Gold Eyed Monster
by Naladot
Summary: After Long Feng rebelled, Azula was sent to regain control. In the process, a strange illness begins to consume her. slight AU.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender

Author's Note: This story is pretty close to canon so far, but I doubt it will be after 3X10, so keep that in mind as you read.

* * *

Chapter 1

Princess Azula sat on a golden throne, her legs crossed, as her train cut a path through a raging blizzard. The red troops of the Fire Nation marched fiercely through the icy winds, their hands ablaze as they journeyed to reclaim Ba Sing Se.

The princess's lips curved into a frown as she thought of the former Earth Kingdom Capital. The world had crumpled under her father's hand, submissive to the last. Neither the remaining areas that called themselves the Earth Kingdom nor the Northern Water Tribe could stop the destiny of the Fire Nation. For five years, the conquered people had complied.

It wasn't until autumn that the disturbing reports came in the hands of Governor Chen, a portly man who ruled in Ba Sing Se. The Dai Li, still claiming allegiance to the Fire Nation, had started to engage in some suspicious activities. According to the governor, they had taken to meeting at a restored Lake Laogai rather than the palace, and had made several subtle comments that spoke of dissent. Governor Chen had a reputation for sensationalism and Fire Lord Ozai had simply dismissed the governor.

Governor Chen had, for once, been correct and by the beginning of winter Ba Sing Se was once again under the control of Long Feng. The coup shocked the world--not just because it happened, but also because he had been able to do such a thing in a city swarming with firebenders empowered by Souzen's Comet. Fire Lord Ozai had planned to go to Ba Sing Se himself until his daughter had pleaded that she, having conquered Ba Sing Se once before, should be the one to do it again. On the condition that this time she would not allow Long Feng to live, Fire Lord Ozai had supplied his daughter with a regiment. . . and given both she and Prince Zuko control over it.

Azula recrossed her legs. It was almost an insult that her father had sent Zuko along, as though he didn't trust Azula to do this herself. His reasoning was that Zuko had spent more time in command of troops than she had, and knew how to deal with the men better. Both father and daughter knew she was more than capable of taking care of things herself. Nevertheless, Zuko had a place of leadership in the regiment--at least, until his sister seized it.

"Princess?" came the voice of one of the colonels as he appeared in the doorway, two firebenders flanking him. She nodded her head for him to continue. "I think it wise to make camp for the night."

"I didn't ask you for your wisdom," her sharp nails fingered a lock of black hair. "We keep going."

The colonel, miserable coward that he was, gulped and bowed before leaving the compartment.

Azula got up from her chair and went to look out the small window. The landscape was a blur of white, broken only by the red of her regiment. She smiled slightly, feeling the heat of flame course through her. No longer could weather impede them. Only the moon posed any kind of threat, and its power was weakening over Azula. She had adjusted well to the celestial power of the comet, better than some firebenders--she had watched as a young man burned himself to death, unable to control his bending. She remembered vaguely that Zuko hadn't firebended for several months, though she had never asked why. She had been much more consumed by the new perfection she was at last able to achieve.

With a last look at the sky, she mused that when the new Avatar (whoever he or she may be, the Fire Nation was carefully watching all the waterbending children) gained full abilities, her power as a single firebender would eclipse even his.

Azula left the compartment in which she had been sitting and entered a narrow passageway. No light shone here, and the movement of the train knocked her off balance. She swore as her shoulder slammed into one side, then snarled as she wrestled to unlatch the door into the next compartment.

The door burst open into a room filled with warm light from a lantern fixed to the ceiling. Sheer red curtains divided the compartment in half, so that soldiers could enter without invading the occupants' privacy. Azula could just make out Ty Lee's contorted form and Mai's bored pose on the other side.

Azula said nothing as she pushed aside the curtains and pulled off the red armor that covered her shoulders and forearms. Ty Lee was chattering on about some soldier she found particularly attractive and Mai was sitting in the corner sharpening one of her daggers.

The soldiers would be exhausted when they reached the next Fire Nation fort. Azula felt that they should learn to deal with such hardship if they considered themselves truly competent to be part of the greatest military power in the world. She mused over other minute details that came with directing this regiment, her first since the Fire Nation had won the war.

"You've lost weight." Mai commented. Azula's eyes held a warning as she looked at the girl who still sat in the corner. Mai surveyed her with apparent disinterest, having long ago learned to keep out any flicker of fear when in Azula's presence.

Azula skimmed her hands along her hips. Mai was right, though Azula had hardly noticed. Long days with very little time to practice meant that her muscles were less toned, but that didn't account for the protruding of her hip bones. Something wasn't quite right, not that Azula couldn't fix it when the time came.

"Maybe you're stressed." Ty Lee added, resting her feet on her head. Her smile slipped as Azula glared at her.

"Perhaps." Azula said finally, slipping on a pale red shift. She sat down on one of the three beds that were mounted to the sides of the compartment. None of the girls spoke for a long moment. Azula ran her fingers along the soft fabric of the shift.

Ty Lee fixed a large smile on her face and looked at Mai. "Did I tell you what Seff said after I winked at him?"

"I can't imagine."

"He said, 'You're a cutie! We should spend more time together!'"

"Really."

"And then I said, 'I'm very flexible.'" Ty Lee laughed at her own innuendo, as though it were the cleverest thing anyone could have said. "And then he winked at me and left. How's Prince Zuko?" Ty Lee seemed to realize the slip of her tongue as soon as she said it and apprehensively watched Mai.

The princess raised her eyebrows at Mai and said nothing.

"I haven't spoken with him recently," Mai said smoothly. "He's probably fine."

Zuko and Mai had become annoyingly secretive as their relationship fell apart, leaving Azula and Ty Lee curiously taking whatever bits of information they were given. The broken engagement was still a raw wound and Mai was testy. Wisely, Ty Lee left the subject alone.

Suddenly, the train jolted into a stop. Ty Lee flipped over backwards and Mai braced herself against the wall. As the compartment grew warmer, both girls stared in fear at the princess.

She said nothing, but her eyebrows creased together and her gold eyes held a look that could mean the death of someone. She turned and grabbed a red overdress and gold belt, looping the latter around her waist. Her eyes flickered over to the girls, the crown resting in her topknot catching the lamplight. "Let's go."

They followed obediently behind. Neither could miss the sparks that sporadically issued from the princess' fingertips.

In a few minutes they had reached the front compartment. Though all that saw Princess Azula bowed, none seemed worried about her presence. Through a window in the front, it could be seen that many soldiers were setting up tents and in the center of this makeshift camp was a large, red, important-looking tent.

"Colonel Sho?" Azula's voice echoed throughout the compartment. The colonel turned to look at her from his seat. "A word."

Sho got up and hurried to the Princess' side, his brow creased with worry. "What's wrong, your highness?" he questioned, taking in her overdress and slippered feet. Only a serious problem would make her appear dressed as she was.

"Who authorized this stop?" she demanded, staring him full in the eye.

He ran a hand along his gray beard worriedly. "Prince Zuko, my lady."

She snarled and turned back around, heading out the door. "_Prince_ Zuko!" She stopped, her body silhouetted in the doorway. She turned her head back to look at Sho. "Inform my brother that I will be dining with him tonight," the princess said calmly.

Sho gulped and nodded, looking to Princess Azula's two friends for moral support. One girl dressed in pink offered a blank smile, the other seemed bored with the whole situation. Sho resumed his seat, wondering if he would live through the night. Princes Azula never hesitated to snuff out what she considered a weakness under her command, and as she couldn't harm her brother, she could easily take out her anger on the poor colonel.

* * *

The setting sun cast orange and pink streaks throughout the sky, blending with the dark blues that were taking over. The soldiers remained in purple shadows, their eyes hidden in darkness, as the princess made her way through the camp. They stopped what they were doing to watch her pass, the crunching of the dirty snow beneath her boots the only sound to be heard.

The princess walked alone, her head held high and her gold eyes focused only on the large red tent that was her destination. A good distance behind her followed six trained, armed guards. The soldiers in the camp were naturally attracted to the beautiful princess, and for those attracted to power her cold demeanor and the fear she brought when her lightening struck only increased the infatuation. However, this feeling only existed so long as one felt he was somehow in the princess's favor--should he mess up, only writhing fear of her could survive.

She stopped once, looking in on a general's tent. The tent was unassuming, larger than that of the soldiers but not elaborate, and belonged to a general for whom they all had great respect. Princess Azula came out followed by a man in his fourties who wore the uniform of a high rank.

The soldiers unabashedly watched as the two strode up to the tall sides of Prince Zuko's tent and went inside.

"Princess seems angry," an older soldier commented to a new recruit.

The younger looked up from where he was scraping a razor against his cheek. "At the prince?"

"From what I heard, she's never liked her brother much." a firebender said from where he was tending to supper.

"Princess don't like anyone much." the old soldier laughed, sitting cross-legged by the camp fire.

"I heard she tried to kill Prince Zuko once," the new recruit had a look of fear on his face. It was obvious he held the scarred monarch in high regard; Prince Zuko wasn't much older than he.

"She killed the Avatar, remember." the old soldier took a strip of jerky the firebender held out, "Princess can do most anything if she puts her mind to it."

"What happens if she tries to kill the prince now?" the new recruit looked up with wide eyes.

The firebender looked up with a peculiar look on his face, as though he were contemplating something of great importance. "It wouldn't come as a surprise to a lot of people, I guess. But, she won't. Strange as it seems, she needs him right now."

While the soldiers returned to their meals and talk, Princess Azula sat rigidly across the table from her brother. Her face held no sign of the turmoil of her emotions, and her hands rested comfortably on the low table before her, but her every word held a venom that sliced apart its victim.

Her brother lounged on the other side. It seemed strange that he would be so relaxed in front of his sister, who was so obviously irritated with him. He wore his hair shaggily, now that they were away from the palace, and it annoyed many of the high ranking officers who bristled at being under the command of a formerly exiled prince. Zuko's head was turned so that he looked at Azula through his unscarred eye.

General Chaika sat between them, cross-legged. He was an average looking man, short and rather stocky, and his black hair was pulled into a topknot. He didn't feign relaxation like either of the two young monarchs, but had an air of peace about him that alluded the other two. He was slowly sipping tuna-trout soup.

Prince Zuko sat up, looking his sister in the eyes. "What's going on, Azula?"

"Oh, Zuzu," she smirked, "surely you know by now?"

"No."

Azula sighed, placing her hands on either side of her bowl of soup. Soon it began steaming again. "I don't appreciate you undermining my authority, Zuko."

Zuko said nothing for a moment. "The men would have been exhausted by the time we reached Fort Zhao," Zuko paused, grimacing slightly at the fort being named after the late admiral, "we _needed_ to make camp."

"These men serve the Fire Nation Army, Zuzu. They are part of the _elite_. You're only hindering them when you let them take breaks just because their legs hurt a little." Azula took a long sip of her soup, watching Zuko with glittering eyes.

"Azula--"

"You _know_ I'm right, Zuko."

Chaika watched as the prince tried not to explode with fury. "They aren't animals that you can keep pushing them until they fall over--"

"But they aren't babies that we can indulge them." Azula said coldly.

"Listen to reason, Azula."

"Stop ignoring the facts. Rest is unnecessary when there is a rebellion taking place against _us_. Long Feng is undermining_our_ power, Zuko."

"What does that have to do with the soldiers?"

"We have to reach Ba Sing Se before we loose our foothold--before Long Feng gains any _real _power."

Zuko let out a groan of frustration. "_You're_--"

"I'm right, and you know it." Azula snapped. The three sat in uncomfortable silence, the crackling of torches and the slurping of soup as the only sounds heard within the tent.

General Chaika cleared his throat as he prepared to try to relieve the tension. "I was wondering exactly how you two thought Long Feng managed to gain control of the city again--the walls are gone, after all."

Zuko glared at his sister, as if challenging her to respond. She set down her soup, folded her hands in her lap, and looked to the general. "Father has gotten soft."

"Father has _not_ gotten soft."

Azula cocked an eyebrow and didn't reply.

Looking exasperated, Zuko turned to the general. "Walls aren't limited to stone--they're in the people's minds, too."

Chaika stared into his soup, counting the lumps and weighing his chances of survival if he pushed one of the monarchs too far. "It has been five years, though, don't you think something would have been accomplished to revert these people to upstanding Fire Nation citizens?"

"They will never be _Fire Nation_ citizens, General." Azula said with a slight smirk. The prince leaned back on his arms.

"It's been five years of unrest," Zuko began, "the Avatar is dead and they have no hope. If there's one thing refugees search for, it's hope."

The general wondered at the dark tone of the prince's voice, as though a painful memory rested just under the surface of his statement.

Zuko continued. "Five years of trying to adjust to a new command? They're restless and the future looks bleak to them. At least under the Dai Li, as it was with Long Feng, they felt like they had some sort of identity. They were probably happy to restore him to power--happy to have someone deny the war ever existed, too."

"Impressive assessment, Zuzu." Azula said enigmatically. Zuko scowled.

The general, however, was interested in the prince's thoughts--he was apparently much more intelligent than Chaika had ever given him credit for. "It should be easy to regain power, however. The earthbenders just aren't strong enough."

Azula smiled, her face hidden in the shadows. Souzen's Comet had given the firebenders unbelievable strength. After it was harnessed, Zuko had led the campaign that destroyed the Northern Water Tribe once and for all. The Earth Kingdom had crumpled, and fire was proven as the superior element.

Azula and Zuko voiced their agreement. "Of course, all the troops in Ba Sing Se will have to be reassigned." she sipped her soup again.

"Why?" Zuko questioned, his brow furrowed.

The general sighed. "They're getting married, starting new lives, not as Fire Nation soldiers but as men."

"I know that."

"Your previous inferences were so acute, Zuko, it's a shame your sentementality is getting to you on this one. Really, Zuko, which is more important: Happy soldiers or a victorious Fire Nation?" Azula's lips curved into a smile as her brother glared at her.

* * *

Azula awoke before dawn the next morning to train. She didn't bother to stay quiet while she dressed; Mai and Ty Lee should be up anyway. Combing her hair, she lit a candle with her index finger and sat down to go over a letter she had just received from her father.

They had slept in a tent set up on the opposite end of camp from her brother's, on a small hill that overlooked the camp. It was a large red tent with divisions for two rooms, a screen dividing the girls' sleeping room in two. Azula shivered slightly as a wind blew against the side of the tent, mentally cursing herself for allowing her temperature to get low enough to shiver. It was often dangerous for a firebender to get too cold.

Azula frowned as she skimmed the letter. The constant reminders of proper protocol were irritating, as though the Fire Lord didn't trust her to do things properly and ensure order within her own regiment. The letter closed abruptly with the statement, _Long Feng is brainwashing our men._

"Mai, wake up!" Azula called harshly. The girl appeared from behind the screen, rubbing her eyes with a small cloth.

"What?" she asked, surveying the princess with a bored expression.

"Go find my brother. Tell him I want to see him." Princess Azula commanded, crumpling the letter in her hand and then reducing it to ashes. Mai was already gone when Azula looked back up, and Ty Lee sat on a stool with a mirror in one hand and rouge in the other. Looping her hair in a topknot, Azula tied a belt around her waist and readjusted the armor on her arms, then left the tent.

The sun was casting its pale light all over the camp ground, tinting the snow blue. Azula strode out into a clearing made for firebenders to train, breathing in the cold air and blowing out steam. She stood in the middle, hands pressed together before her, and watched the sun carefully.

_Breathe in, breathe out_ She calmed herself, allowing emotions to escape her and all the worries of the mission before her to dissipate. Nothing could possibly stop her--even if everything she had planned went wrong, there were other ways to achieve success.

Energy moved through her, concentrated in the stomach. It was an unusual, but familiar, feeling. This was the energy that created fire, the energy that flared up with emotions. All around her was the energy that did not belong to her, that she conquered. She forced it apart with her fingertips, breathing calmly as it struggled to return to its natural state. It clashed together, and lightening sprung forth. The drill was all too common to her--step here, then here--and the lightening hit its mark, a tree about a hundred yards away.

The drills became more complex as the sun rose in the sky. Azula could feel the sweat beading on her brow, but didn't pause to wipe it off. She took a deep breath, kicking out her foot--then, a hacking cough stopped her.

She coughed and coughed and coughed, doubled over from the force of it. She still commanded some lightening with her hands, and it went awry, nearly scorching her, but she realized it in time and created a shield of orange flames around her.

She leaned back on her heels while the coughing subsided, trying to understand what had gone wrong. It was impossible, her stance was flawless, her breathing perfectly timed, her emotions without importance. . .

Disturbed, Azula stood and turned her face to the sun. She drew strength from it, breathing calmly again. She would do the drill again, and this time, nothing would stop her. Almost wasn't good enough. She _would_ be perfect.

She was angry with herself, furious, and could feel that rage building up inside her. She waited until her rationality took over again, until she was calm, for a lightening bender had no use for the blindness anger brought. Azula could overcome her previous failure.

The colors she saw behind closed eyes turned red in the light of the sun. Vowing to never again experience that vulnerability, she separated the energy with her foot and leapt into the air, slashing her leg downwards. The whole process was flawless. She landed, planting her feet squarely on the ground.

Breathing heavily, the princess turned to see her brother. He stood awkwardly, watching her with a veiled expression. She wondered just how long he had been watching. He, too, wore Fire Nation armor, though Azula thought it was too large and bulky on him, much the way managing a country could be. Disgusted at the thought that Zuko still remained heir to the throne, she strode over to him.

"Mai said you needed to see me," he said tersely. He ran one hand through his unkempt hair to push it out of his eyes.

"Father sent me a letter," she paused, turning and walking back to the center of the clearing. Zuko followed. "Long Feng is brainwashing Fire Nation troops. If we don't hurry, Ba Sing Se will be lost completely."

Zuko, standing behind her, said nothing. He took in the bitter contempt in her voice and looked at the way her black hair curled against the nape of her neck, all he could see from behind her.

So, his little sister hadn't been perfect, after all. Zuko often wondered why she hadn't had Long Feng killed, but it seemed he had either escaped somehow or she had let him live. She probably admired the man's cruel brainwashing techniques and pitied him for his vain grasping of power. Zuko was sure the man had been Azula's toy, something to entertain her while she took over his kingdom.

"I'm guessing you have a plan."

"Naturally."

He watched as she drilled very complex forms. She was truly impressive; it was no wonder that their father and everyone else in the Fire Nation preferred her to him. That affection was only increased with the Avatar's second attempt to stop the Fire Nation--as her father harnessed the power of the comet, Azula stopped the Avatar and fired a deathly shot at him. This time, there was no magic water and no waterbender to heal him. Azula had tried to retrieve the body, but it had been taken by one of the Avatar's friends in their flight from the Fire Nation. Though many of the rebels had been caught, there was still a search going on for some of them.

Zuko remembered waiting, counting the days, expecting Avatar Aang to show himself again. It was unlikely that he could have survived a fight with Azula twice, but nothing about Aang was predictable. Part of the prince had also been hoping that, like her brother's, her glory would fall to ashes--if it hadn't been for his victory in the North Pole, he would have been nothing. But the Avatar never mounted another attack.

Five years was a long time.

Finally the prince had settled into an uneasy silence, waiting in the shadow of his sister for the shame that would never come to her.

He was brought out of his reverie by the sight of a colonel rushing towards them.

"I'm terribly sorry," he took a deep breath, "terribly sorry to interrupt, your highness."

"You weren't interrupting anything, colonel." Azula had stopped her practice and was watching the out-of-breath colonel.

"You two said. . . You said that any more cases of the fire-sickness should be. . . be immediately reported to you."

Zuko caught his sister's eyes. The fire-sickness took the benders with the least control over their flame as it's victims--it was the worst, scariest side-effect of Souzen's comet. The bender would simply go up in flames, screaming as their own power destroyed them. . .

"What happened, colonel?" Azula asked.

"Lieutenant Jin-Ho is dead, princess." he waited.

Her eyes flickered between the two men before resting on the horizon. "More drills." the princess's voice cracked--even perfection feared the ravages of the disease. The colonel bowed to both of them and left to carry out the order.

* * *

Azula turned to the scrolls opened on a large table in her red tent, looking at General Kun's detailed reports on Ba Sing Se from before Long Feng's recent takeover. Improvements had been made such as the train system powered by fire and coal rather than earthbending. Azula was proud of what she had single-handedly conquered. She felt the greatness of it all the way through her, and often held the notion that unlike the rest of her family she was destined for true greatness. While others aspired, Azula achieved.

Still, it had unnerved when she realized after her coup of Ba Sing Se that it wasn't enough. She had begun to make plans on how to conquer the Water Tribes, and then how to open the Air Temples to the Fire Nation, when her father had called her home. The monotony of palace life had grated on Zuko but Azula had never had a problem with it--then again, she had been there for two years when he was gone. Fire Lord Ozai liked having his daughter around because she had a knack for manipulation and military planning. Azula relished in doing both, and when she was younger she took great pleasure in her father's favor. However, when she and Zuko had returned, she had realized that her father's favor really meant nothing to her. He could accept her and reject Zuko all he wanted, but in the end Azula could only gain the country (and later, the world) from it. It didn't do anything for her otherwise.

Azula opened a scroll and coughed, creating a stinging pain in her ribcage. She decided it was from the dust on the scrolls and began reading carefully.

"Princess Azula?" called the guard again.

"What is it?"

"Your brother, Prince Zuko, is here to see you."

Wondering what Zuko could want, Azula turned back to the stack of papers on her table. A letter caught her eye and the plan she had been working on ever since she was yoked with her brother for the command of the regiment finally took shape. "Tell him I'm not presentable and that I need a few minutes." She waved her hand in dismissal.

The guard happened to be quite intelligent and, after surveying the princess and seeing that she looked exactly as she had an hour ago when she spoke with the officers, went back outside and asked Prince Zuko to wait.

When she was sure the guard was gone and Zuko wasn't going to barge in on her, Azula picked up the letter and studied it carefully. The characters had a unique style and even the most untrained eye would see such a difference between a scribe's hand and hers. She found a blank sheet of paper and a writing brush and methodically set to work.

* * *

Zuko knew the guard was lying. The apologetic way he spoke, the way he stared at the dingy snow covering the ground, his posture, everything about the man confirmed it. Not that the prince was really surprised; in his time serving the princess he would have discovered that no notion of morality should prevent one from following Princess Azula's orders, unless he had a deathwish.

The prince walked a short way away from Azula's tent, uncomfortable standing with the guard. The silence between the two men was too thick and awkward for Zuko to endure. He was only alone for a few minutes before the guard gestured to him again, and he returned, lifting the tent flap and waiting for his eyes to adjust.

Azula had a fire going to warm the tent in the frigid winter weather. Several candles burned, and she sat behind a large table covered in scrolls. The firelight flickered over her face, and Zuko found himself wishing he hadn't found a need to come. Little did he know, that wish would grow even more the longer he was there.

"You needed me, Zuzu?" Azula asked, cocking an eyebrow. Her hair was perfectly combed and she ran one long nail through one of the pieces that hung around her face.

"I needed to talk to you about transferring our ground troops to the ships once we reach Ba Sing Se." Zuko's voice hung in the warm air. He was trying to be diplomatic, but really was restraining the anger that burst out of him every time he was around the suffocating person of his sister.

"I'm afraid that won't be necessary." Azula's lilting voice was enigmatic.

"Azula, we're supposed to work toge--"

"Not any more." Azula cut him off and handed him a scroll. "This just arrived."

Zuko tentatively reached for the scroll. It bore his father's seal, and when he opened it, the long rows of characters were unmistakably the hand of a scribe. However, the words on the page pointed towards a different monarch than his father. Certainly his father wouldn't strip him of his authority of the regiment? He had given it to him and Azula, to work together.

The silence in the tent was deafening. Zuko just stared at the scroll, trying not to let Azula's careful watch see any hint of emotion. However, his emotions were turbulent inside of him.

_Azula always lies._ He repeated his mantra in his head, knowing that this had to be her own manuever for complete authority once they reached Ba Sing Se. _Azula always lies_. The scroll was perfect, flawless in its construction. The seal was obviously from the palace. There would be no doubt in the mind of a third party. _Azula always lies_.

Zuko felt like his insides had disappeared, leaving only a ringing in his ears. If his father had really sent this, then all Zuko had worked for, hoped for, in the last five years had disentigrated. He hadn't seen his uncle in nearly five years, though he knew he was still alive; if this was how his father felt about him, what would keep him from leaving his son to rot in jail just as he had his brohter? If Azula had written it, it didn't matter. He was still being stripped of his seniority, and when they returned, their father would be pleased at Azula's ingenuity at getting what she wanted. There was no way out.

Wordlessly, Zuko dropped the scroll back onto the table and stalked out of the tent, feeling Azula's triumphant smile on his back and knowing that she would waste no time in instructing the colonels to look at him, their prince, as their equal, and she, their princess, as their Fire Lord.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender

**Chapter 2**

* * *

Huge metal Fire Nation ships loomed over the docks, silhouetted against the dark storm clouds. The troops spanned out to occupy the thirty ships waiting for them in the Western Lake near Ba Sing Se. 

Marching across the Earth Kingdom, while tiresome, had had its advantages. Earth Kingdom citizens who had heard rumors of the turmoil in Ba Sing Se were powerfully reminded of the Fire Nation's strength. The march had helped disguise them as well, as Fire Nation royalty was considered less likely to travel by land than by sea.

Prince Zuko waited in front of the gangplank as a large group of soldiers dragged a komodo rhino onto the ship. It kept digging its heels into the metal and taking two steps back for every one of the soldiers's. The large ship, with the beautiful golden prow and elegant interior, was reserved for him and his sister, and it was his home until she returned from Ba Sing Se.

His eyes scanned the docks--where _was_ his sister? He didn't expect her to leave so suddenly, at least not without telling him first. On this gray day, even the bright reds of the armor seemed to match the darkness of the sky. Zuko shivered in the frigid air as he watched the sea of red, and then he saw green.

Perplexed, he began to walk towards the person, squinting and trying to make sense of who it was and why the person was on Fire Nation docks dressed in Earth Kingdom colors. As he came closer, he realized it was a _woman_, striding calmly towards him among the soldiers, who stopped and stared at her in confusion.

She came right up to the prince, stopping just a few feet in front of him with a small smile on her face. The woman was tall and beautiful, with aristocratic bone structure and long, lovely black hair that rested in a braid over one shoulder.

Realization dawned on him. "_Azula?_"

Her smile grew. "Ty Lee did a good job, no?" she spun for a full effect. The soldiers were still watching in astonishment, loitering around in small groups. Zuko waved a hand for them to get back to work, and they scurried off to their duties.

Ty Lee _had_ done a good job. Azula was almost unrecognizable. A large section of hair was swept across her forehead, creating a softer look. Over her green shift and pants she had draped a green wool shawl. Somehow, Azula's usual elegant features had been softened into those of a common Earth Kingdom girl, the kind Zuko had spent time with before and knew his sister in no way resembled.

"You don't look like yourself at all." he replied with little inflection in his voice.

Azula raised an eyebrow and gave him a look of contempt, and suddenly Zuko saw the princess right through the disguise. "Mai and Ty Lee have gone on ahead."

Zuko nodded in response, his eyes wandering from his sister's to the dark towers of the ships.

"Make sure the firebenders go through extensive training--get them so tired they can't feel anything. If I don't send you a letter by messenger hawk within seven days, lay siege to the city." She paused for a moment, as if unsure how to end the conversation, then began to turn away.

"Azula?" Zuko said hesitantly. She turned back around to look at him. "Good luck."

Her expression softened and the two bowed.

* * *

The process of entering Ba Sing Se, walls or not, proved to be shockingly difficult. Princess Azula--or Lan, as her forged passport claimed--was quickly becoming irritated with the long wait and the hundreds of refugees that had surged towards Ba Sing Se once the news of the coup surfaced. They waited in a vast stone building, which, though not particularly comfortable, was thankfully out of the harsh wind. 

After two hours of sitting on the hard ground and ignoring everyone around her, Azula's number was finally called to approach the booth where passports were checked. The elderly lady sitting behind it seemed to be hard of hearing and shouted every order.

"Passport!" she barked when Azula stood in front of the booth. With a trembling hand, Azula handed the paper to the woman and gazed at her with a trained look of fear and innocence. If this insolent woman knew exactly who she was dealing with at this moment. . . Azula restrained a smirk and quietly took the ticket from the woman.

Along with the refugees, Azula would ride one of the many ferries across the Eastern Lake (which, in a burst of ingenuity, Long Feng had also taken back under Earth Kingdom jurisdiction) and then be led into a train station, from where they would enter the city.

She sat down and drew her knees up to her chest, looking around at the others with wide eyes. She fidgeted with the end of her braid. She double and triple-checked her passport. She played with a loose thread on the hem of her dress. Displaying a nervousness that she didn't feel, she earned the sympathy of a grandmother and her grandchildren. They shared their food with Azula, who was very hungry as in her detailed preparation of leaving had forgotten to eat anything the night before. Eventually, when the moon had risen high into the sky, they were ushered to the ferry and began the voyage across the lake.

Azula drew her shawl more tightly around her and curled up against a wall, thinking contemptuously that Fire Nation ships would never be so rickety or so cold. At some point during the night she dozed off, and the next thing she knew the same old woman who had shared her food was shaking her awake.

"Come on, deary, we've reached the wall."

"Wha?" Azula murmured, resting her head against her knee again. The wall could wait.

The woman's words dawned on her, and the Fire Nation princess shot up and raced to the railing of the softly tilting ferry. A pale sun rose in the sky, in front of it a pillar of dark stone disturbed the horizon. A new wall. . .

Azula's breath fogged in the cold air, noticeably more so than the old woman's next to her.

"It will be better than the one before it. . . Come on, dear, the next train leaves in just a few minutes. . ."

Numbly, Azula allowed the woman to lead her off the boat and into a large group of people being herded to the city.

For a hundred years, the walls of Ba Sing Se had challenged the strength of the Fire Nation. It had been Azula who brought them down. Now, the large pillar of new wall mocked her.

It was freezing where Azula waited for the train, detaching herself from the patriotic grandmother who kept referring to the recent coup of Ba Sing Se as "a great triumph" and how the Earth Kingdom would "knock those firebenders back to their little island where they belong!" The wind blew into Azula's face and she struggled not to shiver, burying her hands into her shawl and breathing on them to keep them warm.

When she had walked into the station, a prickling sensation on the back of her neck had reminded her that she was being constantly watched. While Earth Kingdom soldiers guarded every entrance, the Dai Li agents hung silently, like spiders, in the shadows over them. She had no illusions that a few could still be loyal to her--these men were malleable, following whoever happened to be in charge at the time. Once Azula regained control, more would have to be done to ensure such a travesty did not happen again.

Azula's golden eyes glittered as she watched a group of refugees burn the Fire Nation flag, shouting triumphantly. She boarded the train, and it steamed smoothly out onto the large, snow-covered expanse of Ba Sing Se.

* * *

"What is your name?" 

"Mingmei." she smiled widely, subtly batting her eyelashes.

"And how, exactly, did you get into the Upper Ring?"

She shrugged. It wouldn't give her much credibility for this job if she admitted that several Earth Kingdom guards lay unable to move their limbs at one of the lesser-known entrances to the Upper Ring. "The guards just liked me, I guess." she smiled sweetly.

Quon leaned back in his chair. It was believable, she was extremely pretty, with her wide eyes and flowing brown hair. And her happy-go-lucky demeanor wouldn't hurt the slow business of The Jasmine Dragon, either. Quon sighed, wishing for _something_. . . Business had never been the same once Mushi disappeared. "Do you have any special talents?"

She grinned, stood up, and flipped over to balance on her fingers. Quon's eyebrows raised and he smiled. "You're hired. We'll work in some sort of show, every other night, and you can serve tea the rest of the time."

She stood back up on her feet and bowed, then flounced out of the plush office. Another woman leaned against the wall outside, her black shawl pulled up over her head.

"How'd it go?" her voice was monotone as she surveyed her long black nails.

"Wonderfully, I start tomorrow and I even get to work in a show and oh my goodness, Mai. . . I mean, Hye. . . It will be so great!"

Mai rolled her eyes. It sounded like Ty Lee's dream job, spying and putting on a circus show at the same time.

The two women began walking down one of the wide streets of the Upper Ring, the snow crunching under their boots. Two children ran past them, giggling and throwing snowballs at each other.

"Shouldn't you be looking for a job?" Ty Lee asked. Mai shook her head and yawned.

"Didn't you hear Azula--"

"Lan."

"--Whatever, I really don't care. I'm supposed to. . ." Mai trailed off, a smile creeping onto her face as she caught sight of a Dai Li agent sinking into the shadows. Finally, something exciting. . . "Have fun at work, I'll come in soon." Swiftly, Mai followed him into the dark alley, leaving Ty Lee to her search for an apartment.

The agent moved with stunning agility, twisting down the dark paths so quickly that Mai almost had trouble following him. His confidence was perhaps more startling, and irritating; he walked without looking back and kept his arms folded in front of him. Her time in Ba Sing Se had given her a wealth of knowledge on how these agents worked, and what to expect. Their bending was predictable (she knew the earth wasn't going to crumple under her, the Dai Li worked on secrecy, not theatrics) and he wasn't going to stray into territory unknown to her. Mai had been bored often and had taken to walking the streets of the Upper Ring.

They reached a wide street with a fountain, spilling icicles instead of water. The agent kept to the sides, passing the groups of people with his eyes on the ground. Mai followed silently. The cold air stung her cheeks.

He turned down another road, an alley that would eventually lead to a neighborhood of the affluent. Halfway down the road he stopped, placing a gloved hand against the stone wall. Mai watched from the shadows, her fingers nimbly sliding a two knifes from her sleeve. He raised his other arm, and the daggers spun through the air.

Taking advantage of his split second of shock, Mai let more daggers fly and pin him securely to the wall. She didn't want rocks tumbling toward her, though it would make the job more interesting. But it was time consuming. She walked up to him, pressing a cold blade against the exposed flesh of his neck.

"I remember you." he said shakily, glaring at her. Mai rolled her eyes.

"That's nice." she decided to continue before he got sentimental. "I'm guessing you remember the princess too, then?"

He nodded, his breath fogging in the cold air. His eyes flicked to the roof.

Mai sighed. "You're alone, I wouldn't have done this so obviously if someone was coming for you, you know. Try to pay attention."

Dejectedly, the agent dropped his eyes from the roof and focused on Mai.

"You're going to help me become a Dai Li agent."

His face contorted into a look of shock and disgust. Mai shifted the blade against his neck, hoping he wouldn't get too serious with his notions of patriotism and rebellion. Surprisingly she remembered him, too, though she had never cared enough to find out his name. She did remember that while a good agent, he had followed Long Feng and Azula to the point of idolatry. "You would like to live after the Fire Nation regains control of Ba Sing Se, wouldn't you?"

She also remembered him to be a coward.

He gulped and nodded. Sighing, Mai dislodged him from the wall and let him regain his footing, body tense and hands poised should he try anything.

The agent was older now, weary of the unending war. The idea of an intact Earth Kingdom tugged at him, he would like to send all these cold-hearted, hot-blooded fire people back to their little volcanic island. But he was realistic. If not him, this woman would find another agent, and get in somehow. He had no doubt that Princess Azula, wherever she was in the vast city, would somehow gain control again. Long Feng had been foolish to think that the years of static occupation and no sign of the princess gave him any safety to start a rebellion. And maybe he had been foolish to follow Long Feng's plans.

Stoically she was watching him, her hands buried in the folds of her dress--he would have felt so much safer if her long fingers had been where he could see him. Taking a deep breath, the agent relented.

"What will I call you?"

"Hye." she responded, giving no sign of pleasure or displeasure at his decision.

"It will be difficult, getting you in. . . There are very few Dai Li agents who aren't earthbenders. . . And all of us go through extensive training. . ."

Mai rolled her eyes. "Do you really think I'll have to fake it for very long?" She gestured down the street. "Well? Let's go."

Meanwhile, Ty Lee was negotiating with an innkeeper who was downright rude. It was all Ty Lee could do to keep her usual cheerful expression. For one, it was cold, and Ty Lee didn't like the cold very much; secondly, the woman was just unpleasant, she looked sour and her words were bitter and she smelled kind of funny. It occurred to Ty Lee to look for another room, but they just didn't have inns in the upper ring. Besides this one.

"Listen, little girl--"

"I'm a woman, thank you very much." Ty Lee retorted. The innkeeper glared at her.

"You dress like a floozy."

Ty Lee looked at her in disbelief. "I do not! Who even uses the word 'floozy?'"

The innkeeper rolled her eyes and jutted her thumb towards the upstairs. "If you want a room, you gotta pay."

"I start work tonight."

"Where?"

"The Jasmine Dragon."

The innkeeper, who had been sweeping the lobby of her inn, leaned on the broom and rubbed her chin thoughtfully. Ty Lee squinted at the dark lines of her upper lip, wondering if she _really_ had a mustache or if it was just the lighting.

"I suppose. . . They _do_ have good tea. . . Very well." the innkeeper walked to the other side of a desk and retrieved a large, ornate key. "Room twenty-three. I expect a payment of twelve silver pieces every Saturday, otherwise you will be quickly evicted." Ty Lee thought their was an evil glimmer in the woman's eyes, but took the key and located Room twenty-three on the second floor. Pleasingly, it was warm, and Ty Lee sank onto the pallet for a much-deserved nap.

She woke up with something pricking her face. Opening one eye, she discovered it to be one of Mai's long black nails, and the other woman was glaring at her. Fear rushed through her and she shot out of bed. "Oh, no, I haven't missed work, have I?" she shrieked, running her fingers through her tousled hair.

"No, you're fine." Mai sank down onto the bed roll.

Ty Lee looked carefully at Mai. She had changed her clothes, and was now wearing a long brown robe with a green shift over it. Conspicuously in the center was the Dai Li emblem. "You got in, then?"

Mai nodded.

Ty Lee looped her hair into elaborate twists on top of her head. Azula had given her more wardrobe choices than the other two had taken, and Ty Lee retrieved her favorite from her sack. It was, naturally, a disgusting shade of green. Ty Lee had never taken to green, green was the color of envy and resentment and backstabbing and the looming expanse of the Earth Kingdom.

"I wonder what Azula did when she saw the new wall." Ty Lee felt the soft material of the green shirt. She liked it because it fit her so well and was embroidered with beautiful pink flowers.

Mai shrugged, running the tip of her finger across one of her blades.

Ty Lee finished getting ready, and as she dabbed perfume onto her wrists, looked at Mai again. "Are you coming?"

Mai shook her head, leaning back on her elbows. "I won't be here when you get back, either."

"Oh. Well. . . Okay." smiling again, Ty Lee wrapped her shawl around her and headed out into the cold night.

The Jasmine Dragon was bursting with excitement. A line wrapped around outside. Ty Lee let herself in a side door, stopping in shock when she saw Quon looming over her. "I'm terribly sorry, Mingmei, but do you think you could come up with a show on the spot?"

She laughed, relieved. "That won't be a problem at all."

Her mission was to gain the confidence of the elite who frequented the tea shop ("All the elite frequent the Jasmine Dragon," Princess Azula had said wisely, with a a tinge of amusement in her voice, "it's some sort of weird legacy left by my crazy uncle.") and to weed out those who supported Long Feng. Her show, then, would have to help her get close to the nobles so that she could talk to them later.

Ty Lee didn't know what Mai's problem was. This espionage work was _fun_ and exciting.

* * *

Azula huddled against the wall, well aware of the Dai Li eyes watching her from high above. It was beneath her station to be sitting in an alley in the middle of winter, it was shameful. But it was also necessary. 

Her shivering wasn't acting, the weather was unbearably cold after the sun went down. Upon her entry to the city, Azula had made it a point to find the spiciest Fire Nation food available to her, surprised to find she had an appetite on a mission. An ex-soldier had sold the food to her, assisted by his Earth Kingdom wife. Azula's dislike had been difficult to disguise.

She had never spent much time in the Lower Ring the first time she was here, but it was much as she expected it to be, and much like the vague descriptions Zuko had given her on rare occasions over the years. The place was rundown, there were a lot of people living in rickety old houses that were on the brink of toppling over, and there were a lot more people trying to move into those houses, because a roof was holes in it was better when it snowed than no roof at all. Azula hadn't bothered to look for a place to spend the night, knowing she would be escorted to the Upper Ring _very_ soon.

Ji Hwan had been the first agent to recognize her, she had seen it in the slight shift of his head when she passed by. Azula had a knack for remembering. . . well, everything, especially information that could prove important in the future. She remembered that it was Ji Hwan who had followed her leadership first, and followed wholeheartedly. It wasn't loyalty that held him to her but fear and admiration. His support for Long Feng would wane quickly.

After the agent had recognized her, the shadows flitting against the roofs and walls behind her had grown more numerous. They were waiting for some sign that their assumption was correct, as well as waiting for the opportune moment to escort her right to the heart of their city where Long Feng called himself king.

She wondered what kind of confusion she was eliciting in them, sitting here looking so poor and weak and nothing at all like they remembered her.

Flakes of snow were falling from the black sky again, settling on top of the brown-tinged snow that covered the alley. Azula took a deep breath, feeling the gaze of the agents upon her, and brought her folded hands up to her face.

A sputtering flame from her mouth warmed them for one rapturous moment before the earth engulfed her and the tall forms of the agents loomed over her.

Azula's eyes widened in schooled fear. "What are you doing?"

"You're very far from home, princess." one of the guards spoke.

"What do you mean? I-I'm not a princess. . . My name is Lan. . ." her voice broke off and she looked imploringly at the guards.

"We remember you very well, Princess Azula." Ji Hwan's raspy voice floated through the dark alley.

She gave a strangled groan. "Very well then, but I'm not harming anyone or doing anything wrong so I don't see. . ."

A guard stepped forward and lifted her out of the hole she had been earthbended into. "He said, we _remember_ you, Princess Azula. Long Feng will want to see you."

Her arms were twisted behind her and sharp rocks pressed against her wrists, forcing her compliance. The guards flanked her denying her escape as they took her to the palace.

Azula could not restrain a very small smile from twisting across her face.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender

**A/N:** Hopefully this chapter works. The more I write Azula, the more I realize how much I dislike her. She's fun to write but not a good person.

* * *

**Chapter 3

* * *

**

The red paint had yet to be scraped from the walls of the palace. Fire Nation emblems were strewn across the floor, some ripped into pieces and others burned in the center. The palace, previously so beautiful and elaborate, was in disrepair as the headquarters of the most recent attempt at rebellion.

To her disgust, Azula had heard people praising Long Feng as their savior and leader. It was somewhat amusing that they would feel this way when all the man really cared about was seizing power for himself, but it was mostly just irritating. Long Feng deserved nothing, least of all glory.

Twelve Dai Li agents surrounded her, silently daring her to try to escape. Roughly they escorted her from room to room, explaining the situation to one person after another, traversing the web of bureaucracy that Long Feng had yet to tire of. Dai Li agents were men of few words, explaining their need to see Long Feng as succinctly as possible. "Fire Nation Princess Azula," Ji Hwan would rasp, "Long Feng will want to see her." The official would stare at her in astonishment, and direct them to another office in the palace. There the tedious process would begin all over again.

As they walked through one of the open-air passageways between buildings, Azula stared at the moon shining through the murky clouds. It was sometime in the very early hours of the morning, and she had five days left to have her coup of the rebellion sufficiently accomplished to send a letter to her brother so he wouldn't storm the city. Though she suspected he would very much enjoy crushing the rebellion by force, she would prefer to do things her way, and leave with her fame as the conqueror of Ba Sing Se still intact.

Azula didn't go into things unprepared. She theorized, she strategized. Attacking something like this without a flawless plan was unthinkable. And yet here she was, being drug toward the one variable in her plan, the one man whose actions she wasn't sure she could accurately predict.

She could guess, of course. These long years of Fire Nation occupation and supremacy may have left him jaded, and he would simply dismiss her to the depths of a restored Lake Laogai where she would be brainwashed. Alternatively, he could kill her on sight. But the princess, famed for her intelligence, was gambling that Long Feng would let her live. She didn't rely on the ideas of honor her brother had--if she lived, it wouldn't be because she had first spared Long Feng's life years earlier--but somehow, she had a feeling that in this game of chance, she would win.

Azula's feelings were very rarely wrong.

When they reached gargantuan doors plated with gold, Azula knew that Long Feng would be in the throne room behind. He wasn't doing much in the way of being unpredictable.

Seven different Dai Li agents came out to hear the story before finally giving clearance into the vast green throne room. Unlike the rest of the defaced palace, this room remained beautifully intact, every wall exquisitely painted in shades of green, every inch of the room directing the eye to the beautiful throne. As she had expected, Long Feng sat rigidly on the golden throne, his fingertips pressed together and his eyes following the princess as she, in her ragged peasant's clothing, was led in between the Dai Li agents. "How the tables have turned, Princess." His deep voice echoed in the vast space.

The agents stopped her twenty feet before the throne and forced her to her knees, one's cold hand gripping her neck. Lifting her eyes, Azula gave Long Feng a cold look.

The corners of his mouth twisted slightly, and his eyes were solely on her. "What brings you to Ba Sing Se, _your highness_? And," he smirked, "dressed as a peasant?"

Azula gave a sidelong glance to the Dai Li agent pressing her into a low bow. "I'll speak to you alone, or not at all."

Long Feng leaned back in his throne and laughed. "I think I'd rather keep my life, your majesty."

She licked her lips. He was mocking her.

There was an injustice to it, seeing him sitting on the throne of the city that belonged to _her_. Azula's hatred for the man lacked passion or anger; it rested in her chest, hard and icy. "Well then, here we are, you sitting up there pretending to be a king while holding true royalty in custody." she weighed each word carefully, relishing in the moment he reacted.

His smile fell. "You're going to have to play more nicely, Princess, if you want to survive. You have no power here." He looked at one of the agents. "Get her out of my sight," he snarled, his eyes resting on her again. The agents yanked the princess up, the one who had previously forced her head down now kept a grip on her forehead. Long Feng's eyes had yet to leave Azula.

"Should we take her to Lake Laogai?" the agent asked, his voice expressionless.

An odd look crossed Long Feng's face and he ripped his eyes away from the imprisoned princess. "No."

She could feel his eyes boring into her back as she was escorted out, and wondered at how quickly Long Feng had forgotten that _true_ royalty _always_ had power.

* * *

_ Drip. Drip. Drip._

Azula's neck ached from dozing off on the metal floor of her cell. She wrapped her shawl more tightly around her as she lifted herself into a cross-legged position; the cell was purposely kept at freezing temperatures. Somewhere there was an irritating leak, echoing throughout the prison. Just beyond the window in the door Azula could see eerie green light and dark figures.

"Dinner." an agent said, slipping a tray through the slot in the bottom of the door. Azula looked up, still exhausted from her restless sleep and vaguely aware that she recognized the voice. The agent's face was pale, angular, expressionless.

Azula looked back to the floor. Resting on the tray were three small bowls--water, rice, and meat--and an odd slip of paper. The tray scraped against the stone floor as she slid it towards her, hiding the slip of paper in the palm of her hand. The food was piping hot and spicy, a weak antidote for a firebender to the adverse effects of cold. Calmly she began to eat the food, warmth rushing through her.

She hadn't slept more than an hour, maybe two, previously meditating from the time they had shoved her into the cell. Dinner already. . . Time ran together, there was no morning or night in the metal cell. She was patiently waiting until she was called, and she would be called, Long Feng's interest had been piqued and her presence was too notable to ignore.

A door clanged shut somewhere down the hall, and Azula knew she was alone.

Setting her chopsticks back onto the tray, she unfolded the small blank strip of parchment. She lit a small flame on her thumb and heated the back of the slip, watching as red letters seeped like blood from nowhere onto it. _Da Chao. Chang. Huang. Tai Wen. Qing. Ru-Heng. . ._

Mai was very good at her job. With a small smile, Azula committed the list of names to memory and set the strip aflame. Straightening her back, the princess began her breathing exercises.

About an hour later, the door screeched open again and heavy footfalls echoed throughout the prison. A key rattled in the lock of her door, and then they roughly seized her and dragged her through the winding halls of the palace.

This time, no administrators stood in their way, since Long Feng had sent for her himself. The agents did not take her to the throne room, but down several flights of stairs to where only green firelight illuminated the rooms. It was an earthbender disposition, she supposed, to wallow in the dirt away from the heat of the sun.

They escorted her into a small room where a green fire flickered in the corner. Long Feng was standing in front of it, staring into it, hands clasped rigidly behind his back.

"Shall we wait, Long Feng, sir?" one of the agents asked.

Azula subtly, but forcefully, withdrew her arm from his grasp. With a sweet smile, she gestured to the earthen walls. "Would I really have a chance in here?"

The agent looked glassily at her for a moment, no doubt remembering her to be a master firebender, before looking back at Long Feng. The man glanced at Azula and waved his hands for the agents to leave.

"We'll be right outside, sir." another agent said, arms folded. Azula cocked an eyebrow.

"Very loyal, aren't you, Chang?" her gold eyes glinted in the firelight, and Chang stopped just long enough for their eyes to connect before he left the room.

Still standing next to the fire, Long Feng gestured to a place on the floor next to the low table. "Please sit down, and have some tea."

Azula did as he requested, politely pouring the steaming tea into her cup. An uneasy silence settled between the two, Long Feng facing her but his eyes on the floor. He seemed on edge, clasping his hands behind his back. Azula let her eyes drift to the green fire behind him, the steaming cup warming her hands.

Long Feng groaned. "I should kill you."

Azula lifted her cup to her lips, letting the honey-colored liquid wet her lips briefly before setting the full cup back onto the table. "But you haven't."

He folded his arms and stared at her. "No."

After a moment of a staring contest, Azula gestured to the seat across from her. "Do sit down, you're making me nervous."

The man did so, sitting rigidly across from her and not touching the cup of tea she poured him. "Why are you here, Princess?" he asked, his voice sounding weary.

He had aged since she saw him last. The middle-aged fool using the king as his puppet had hardened into world-weary rebel, grasping for power because it was all he had ever known to search for. His hair was just beginning to gray at the temples. She turned her head to look into the fire and let out a harsh laugh. "You won't believe me."

"That may be true," his voice drew her eyes away from the fire, "but tell me anyway." He sounded very serious and his expression was dark, as though he were steeling himself against her.

A bitter smile crossed her face. "Five years ago I returned home as a hero. Ba Sing Se was conquered and the Earth Kingdom fell with it, all to my glory. There was nothing I couldn't accomplish," she laughed again. "Except of course, seizing my father's throne."

Long Feng's eyes widened. "You tried to overthrow Fire Lord Ozai?"

Her eyes flicked up to his face, connecting with his gaze. "You believe me?" she asked, raising her eyebrows in embittered amusement.

"It's a plausible story," he paused, "given it's you."

She looked away. "I can't tell if that's a compliment or an insult."

Suddenly, perhaps as a result of her apparent self-doubt and the idea that she had really lost everything, Long Feng's attitude changed. His body relaxed and the icy expression on his face melted into a wily half-smile. "A statement of your character, if you like. Are you not going to drink your tea, Princess?" he waved a hand to the pot.

She looked back again, letting her eyes catch his as a smirk twisted her lips. "I'd like to remain fully conscious for this meeting, if you please."

He lifted his head. Azula felt insulted that he considered her so naive, but then, he didn't look surprised. "Ah. Of course," and he smiled.

The princess composed herself to appear appropriately weak and humble. "So, after I tried to usurp my father, he cast he me out," she continued, "not that I can really blame him for that, it's understandable. I came to the Earth Kingdom and here I've been traveling around, biding my time for the right opportunity. You see, Long Feng, I will sit on that throne."

He leaned back, brushing his beard with his fingers. "I have no doubt of that."

Azula placed her elbows on the table and lifted her chin, staring intensely into his eyes. The firelight cast black shadows across her face. "So then, you understand why I need you."

Long Feng's face was stony, his lips parted in confusion.

"Without your help the empire isn't mine. . . And if you help me, you will certainly be rewarded."

His eyebrows creased together. "What kind of rewards, your highness?"

She smiled and leaned away from the table, the firelight illuminating her porcelain skin and her long, glossy black hair. "The whole world would be at my disposal, wouldn't it? You could have anything, anything you've ever wanted."

He shut her out, looking down onto the table. "I'll think about it," he said, his voice shaking slightly.

* * *

Mai was vaguely interested in asking Azula how things were going, knowing that three days were left for someone to send Zuko a letter telling him not to come rampaging into the city. She knew Zuko. He was always rampaging.

But she also knew Azula, which meant that things were going well and within the next week she and Ty Lee would be resting comfortably somewhere in the palace. It would be very like Azula to leave the letter off until the last day, just to agitate Zuko. With a slight feeling of amusement, Mai could picture him, silhouetted against the sky, watching for the speck of black that would be a hawk. . .

_That_ image was wiped from her mind quickly. All images of Zuko were wiped from her mind quickly.

She didn't really feel angry. As a teenager, Zuko had been the only one to elicit anger, or playfulness, or passion, in Mai, just as Azula had been the only one to rivet her attention. A few years had left her numb to both of them, unable to renew her infatuation for Zuko or her fascination with Azula. She stayed with Azula because it was more interesting than settling down and getting married and having a few spoiled children, and avoided Zuko because he was the only one with whom she had ever considered it.

Her relationship with the prince had been deteriorating for a couple of years, unknown to Azula and Ty Lee. Zuko returned from the destruction of the Northern Water Tribe restless, angry, and detached. And Mai had simply gotten bored, just sort of drifting away from him. They had gotten engaged because it seemed to be the natural course of things, and had broken it off because neither were very good liars and couldn't fake happiness that wasn't real. Though she would deny it, it had hurt. Now she just ignored it.

Following Xi, the Dai Li agent she had blackmailed into helping her, around Ba Sing Se proved to be an excellent distraction. He had helped her slip into the Dai Li ranks almost unnoticed, manipulating the tangled web of administrators to their advantage so that she virtually disappeared. She had gleaned the names of the ringleaders of the rebellion--those who didn't call themselves the Dai Li so much as Earth Kingdom men fighting for their freedom--as she gained any information, sitting around quietly and pretending like she didn't care. Which, she didn't really, but she remembered the names anyway. These names were easily passed to Azula, along with some warm food.

Mai thought it odd that the cold was affecting Azula at all. But then, Mai wasn't a firebender. Maybe because she couldn't bend she naturally had an affinity to the cold, she certainly had an aversion to the sun.

She yawned, stepping outside the palace gate and onto the city street. Waiting in a perfect row with five other Dai Li agents, she stood attentively as Long Feng came out.

* * *

Ty Lee didn't know how to react when Long Feng strode into the Jasmine Dragon as though it was the most natural thing in the world. Azula _must_ be right; all the important people in Ba Sing Se _were_ coming to the Jasmine Dragon.

While Mai could remain safely hidden in her Dai Li uniform, Ty Lee knew she was too recognizable to stand around and chat with Long Feng. Someone had once commented to her that men never forget a pretty face, and Ty Lee happened to have one of those. She also had an absurdly bendable body that was bound to get his attention, and then he would remember who she was, and once he realized Azula's friends were here, he'd be quick to see through the princess. . .

Somehow, she had to get out of here. She also really wanted to give Mai the piece of parchment on which she had written twenty-eight names of esteemed noblemen and women who supported the rebellion. It was burning a hole in her pocket; she constantly checked and double-checked to make sure it was still there.

Her first step in being unnoticeable was letting her hair down into cascading brown waves. The men seemed to appreciate that. Using her sweet smile, she got the other server to trade sections with her so that her tables were as far away from Long Feng's table as possible.

Her next step was to go talk to Chef. Upon this wonderful Mushi's vanishing into thin air, Quon had decided the tea shop could not support itself just serving tea. While the tea diminished in quality, the food increased.

Ty Lee manuevered her way through the steam-filled kitchen, finally catching sight of the tall man. "Chef?" she called, sidestepping a pot lying in the middle of the kitchen.

"Yes, Mingmei?" he replied, obviously distracted by the orders being yelled at him.

"I need to leave early tonight."

"Why?" he asked, glancing at her. She blushed. "Ah." he turned back to the noodles he was cooking for a moment. "Very well then, have fun on your date."

Ty Lee left without correcting him, grateful that she hadn't had to come up with a reason. She wasn't as good at lying as Azula.

Her third and final step was to somehow exit the building while going past the Dai Li unnoticed. She could see Mai at the end of the line, poised less like a statue than the other Dai Li. It wasn't because she couldn't stand like them, Ty Lee knew Mai was good at hiding her identity, but most likely because she was getting bored. Ty Lee couldn't blame her, what exactly was the point of standing around the man like that while he enjoyed his food? Ty Lee would be bored too.

With a sly smile Ty Lee walked up to one of the more attractive men in the tea shop. He was dining with other officials and, thankfully, wasn't on Ty Lee's list. "Do you think you could to me a favor?" she asked sweetly.

He raised his eyebrows and looked cheekily at his other companions, who had big grins on their faces. "I'd be delighted."

She knelt down and leaned over to whisper in his ear, gently placing a hand on his arm. "You see the Dai Li standing around over there?"

He looked and nodded.

"One of them broke my heart," she pouted, "and I want terribly to make him jealous. Since you are by far one of the most handsome men here, do you think you could kiss me right as we walk by them?"

His friends were nudging each other and grinning like oversize school boys. He stood, held out an arm, and replied, "it would be my pleasure, my dear."

Her plan was executed perfectly, and Mai took the paper as she passed without anyone being the wiser.

* * *

Azula lounged again in Long Feng's dark office, picking at the rice given to her in a bowl of fine porcelain. He had said nothing to her since she arrived, instead sitting in the corner and writing on a sheet of parchment, the light from a candle flickering over his face. Azula was patient, knowing she would soon see results.

Earlier that morning Mai had brought her a list of nobles who supported the rebellion. Nobles were harder to deal with than the Dai Li, as they had personal and financial connections that often stretched as far as the Fire Nation. Azula didn't really want a mass execution, anyway; she had a respect for the people born into their power.

She set down the bowl when Long Feng shifted, his eyes darting to her briefly. Calmly, she surveyed him. He sat very still for a moment, not looking at her, before walking over and taking a seat across from her.

He cleared his throat. "I'm afraid I still don't trust you, Princess."

One of her eyebrows arched. "I suppose that's understandable."

"I've no reports of you being banished. Actually, there's no trace of you anywhere, in court or not."

Azula had had all information on her blotted out as soon as she heard of the coup in Ba Sing Se, starting from the Fire Nation court and working outward. "I told you, my father disowned me. To him, I don't exist--which means I don't exist to the rest of the world, either."

The lines on his forehead creased and he helped himself to a portion of rice.

"Ba Sing Se is slowly being returned to it's previous glory. . ." he said aimlessly, staring into his bowl.

She watched him carefully. "I saw your building project."

He suddenly looked elated, his lips twisting into a little smile. "You liked it?"

"You revert quickly to your old ways." she twisted her finger around a lock of her cascading silky black hair. Even after the filth of the Lower Ring and the cold of her jail cell, Azula remained extremely beautiful.

"Ba Sing Se was impenetrable for a hundred years. Without earthbending, I'm sure it could have stood longer."

She laughed. "Didn't you see the drill? Without the Avatar, it wouldn't have stood. And the Avatar is very dead." Even five years later, the memory of the kill that redeemed her to the Fire Nation was enough to stir the energy inside her. It was a sign, an acknowledgement that the princess would always succeed, because she had done it before and she would do it again.

He shook his head. "Fire Nation machinery." he muttered.

"The glory of the Fire Nation is progress, Long Feng. Perhaps you should think about that and forget about your giant stone walls."

Long Feng sipped his tea and led the conversation in another direction. "The Avatar will be reborn, of course."

"All waterbending children are carefully monitored."

"Naturally."

Their eyes met for a long moment, before Azula dropped hers back to her bowl.

Long Feng was slowly stirring his rice around in his bowl. "Perhaps the Avatar could help us."

Azula noted the word "us" as a marker of his decision. "Help us to do what?"

He looked amused. "Overthrow your father, of course."

Azula stared at him. "Didn't you meet Avatar Aang? The Avatar _never_ supports an empire."

He lifted a hand in assent.

She began stirring her tea, swirling the liquid around in her cup. Long Feng's face was half in shadows, but he was still watching her. She shifted slightly and glanced up at him, contemplating the man. Their interaction, all those years ago, had been very brief and always wound by tension as she took her shots and he tried to sustain his control. Azula had known, even then, that while he hated her he also admired her. She had thought nothing of it then, what was a man's admiration to a sixteen year old? Years of court should have taught her better, should have taught her how for centuries women had manipulated men so easily for no other reason than infatuation and lust were blinding.

He cleared his throat. "And how exactly am I going to be of any help to you, Princess?"

"You've got thousands of earthbenders and trained warriors right here, and more across the kingdom just _dying_ to spill Fire Nation blood. It would be easy to exploit."

His expression was skeptical. "Against firebenders backed by the comet? We'd be slaughtered."

She sighed. Even as she lied to him, this bit of embarrassing truth was going to be revealed. "The comet wasn't as powerful as we had believed. It was powerful--we were strengthened more than enough to finish the war--but it didn't live up to the stories."

Long Feng turned to look at her. "One firebender couldn't take out twenty earthbenders in a cave single-handedly, then?"

She smirked. "A good one could."

He chuckled softly and looked away from her. When he looked back, he had an odd expression on his face. "You've gotten much older," he commented.

Azula looked at him slyly and didn't respond.

Awkwardly he wrenched his eyes from her and stood up, turning his back on her to look into the fire.

"You said I would be rewarded." he said gruffly, tilting his head a fraction toward her.

Azula saw the easiest, most effective way to get what she wanted from this man. It was beneath her, dishonorable, but she knew it would work. If they tried to reclaim the city by force, she knew too many connections had already been made by the people on the two lists given her by Mai and Ty Lee, and Ba Sing Se might not be secured. Rebellions would spring up across the Earth Kingdom, following quiet voices that claimed _It happened in Ba Sing Se, it could happen here, too_. The Dai Li, formerly shrouded in secrecy and fear, would be enshrined as heroes. If she tried to influence the Dai Li without this man's trust first, they would slip back into the shadows and the earth and out of her grasp.

Azula's glory rose and fell with Ba Sing Se and she _was_ going to get it back.

With slow, deliberate steps she treaded up behind Long Feng. His arm tensed when she pressed four perfectly manicured fingers against it, his face was carefully blank as she whispered in his ear. "I said you could have anything, anything you ever wanted. . ."

He turned his head, inclining it slightly toward her, and their eyes met.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender  
**A/N:** This chapter is thanks to my new amazing beta, dead2self, for being amazing.

* * *

**Chapter 4**

* * *

Azula awoke with the sunrise, pale rays of the cold winter sun streaming into the room through the ornate green screens that decorated the windows, casting the room into a blue-green glow. The fire crackling in the hearth across from the low bed had long since died, and the room was chilly. She stretched out her arm and ran one of her fingers across the icy stone floor. Unwilling to face the cold just yet, she nestled back among the sheets and took a deep breath, warming herself with her firebending. 

After a moment of mental preparation, she slid out from the bed, the shock of the cold room rushing like waves across her bare skin. Silently she crept to the other side of the room and retrieved a piece of parchment, inkwell, and brush from the mahogany desk. With a glance at Long Feng's sleeping form, she wrapped a heavy green robe, lined with silk, around her and slid her feet into fur-lined shoes. Once more she looked at him, making sure his chest rose and fell slowly in deep sleep, she slid open the screen to the balcony and stepped outside.

The cold air made her catch her breath as it was so unlike the chill she felt indoors, more encompassing. The pale yellow sun, tinting the sky in rosy pinks, renewed Azula's energy, life flooding her veins at the sight of it. The city beyond it stretched out for miles, blanketed in white snow, shadowed with blues and grays.

Perched on the railing of the balcony was a messenger hawk with little beady eyes. These birds had the uncanny ability to know where they were needed, and this one was waiting for her. She took the parchment and composed her note to Zuko. It was brief, simply instructing Zuko to wait for further directions from her. She rolled the parchment up, slid it into the hawk's special compartment, and the bird soared into the sky.

"What are you doing?" Long Feng's deep voice sounded from behind her as he opened the screen.

She turned and gave him a small smile. "Enjoying the sunrise."

Long Feng's brow furrowed. "It's freezing out here."

Azula raised her eyebrows and watched him shift awkwardly under her gaze. A moment later, she turned back around, resting her elbows on the railing and looking at the city that had brought her so much glory, while the man who was trying to take it away from her stood behind her, unsure of what to think of the beautiful princess.

Long Feng cleared his throat, coming to stand next to her by the edge of the balcony. "I don't know what you had in mind for today. . ."

"We'll make plans, of course," she interrupted.

"What do you mean?" he asked slowly, sounding skeptical. She turned to him, mechanically softening the expression in her eyes and resting a hand on his arm. His muscles tensed underneath her touch.

"I thought we were on the same side now," she said, looking at him imploringly. "You're going to have to trust me."

The wary look in his eyes slowly diminished. Clearing his throat, he put a hand on her back and directed her back inside. The inside, which had seemed so cold to her before, washed numbing warmth back over her. Her face tingled.

Long Feng was already prepared for the day ahead of him, dressed properly. Azula, however, had no clothes other than the shabby costume she had come into the city with and the long, heavy robe she was wearing now. "Send a servant with some new clothes for me," she instructed, dismissing him with a wave of her hand.

He stood in confusion for a moment before swiftly leaving the room.

As soon as she was sure he was gone, Azula sunk back down onto the bed. Her entire body was shaking, and she was so cold. . . She was so light-headed that it felt like her head had floated away from her. There was a burning pain in her ribs, and a moment later she was struggling not to cough.

Still shivering, she tried to light the fire again. The orange flames sputtered and died in her hand. Angry, the princess tried to calm her body and restore her control over the energy. This time, her blue fire slashed through the air and exploded against the far wall. Once more, Azula tried to gather her energy--

"Princess? Princess? Please, wake up. . ."

Azula's eyes fluttered open. A girl was standing over her, wide-eyed, nudging her shoulder.

"What are you doing?"

"I-I'm sorry--"

"Don't you have any respect for your superiors?" Azula spat, pulling herself into a sitting position.

"I'm sorry, really, I'm sorry. . ." The girl quickly dropped the clothes she had been carrying in her arms next to Azula and ran out of the room.

Azula's glare followed the maid out of the room, resting on the door for a long while. She began going over every exercise, every practice, every mishap that had ever affected her firebending. Sitting cross-legged on the floor and folding her hands in front of her, she calmed her mind and recalled the very moment she felt slightly light-headed, the moment she realized she was losing weight for no apparent reason, the moment her firebending had first seemed weak. All had occurred within a week long period when she had first arrived in the Earth Kingdom for this venture. She had been cold, the sun had been up.

Azula took a deep breath. She would have to ensure this never happened again, with multiple breathing exercises, daily training even here in Ba Sing Se, a strict diet, meditation. Breathing out, she felt her renewed energy flow through her, and knew that if anyone could beat these strange occurrences, it was her.

* * *

Azula took Long Feng's outstretched hand and stepped lightly out of the carriage, her boot crunching on the slippery snow. Lake Laogai stretched out in front of them like dark glass. Azula wrapped her parka more tightly around her and watched as the first in a line of Dai Li agents opened the tunnel to under the lake. 

She raised an eyebrow as Long Feng led her down the narrow walkway, gripping her elbow. "Restoring the lake?"

"Old ways are best," he responded grimly, his breath fogging in the cold, early morning air.

"Hence the wall."

Long Feng didn't respond, focusing instead on the two of them making their way into the dark tunnel and climbing down, down beneath the lake. The air in the caverns was damp and cold, smelling slightly of fish.

"We'll go through usual procedures." He was handed a scroll by and agent and skimmed it as he talked to her. "Then gather all the agents together and figure out what we're going to do."

"Very well." Azula looked at her long, manicured nails in apparent boredom. She was prepared to play the role of an uninterested woman accompanying Long Feng on a whim, if it meant that she could at least observe some happenings without suspicion. Though of course, they _remembered_ her. . .

In the first chamber sat a hundred Joo Dees, each with a strangely blank look on her face as she gaped at the vaulted ceiling. None spoke.

"They've become increasingly difficult since the coup." Long Feng muttered.

"Which one?" Azula asked, raising an eyebrow as she looked over them.

Long Feng gave her a sidelong glance. "Yours."

"Really?" Her lips, painted with a tinge of red, curved upwards.

He looked back out at them. "The destruction of the walls left them utterly lost. Without the walls they had no identity, no reason to live. They would just. . . lie down, anywhere, and slip into a sort of coma. Until. . ."

Azula drew pleasure from the memory. "I've caused you a lot of trouble."

"It's difficult to make them understand that they are not servants of the Fire Lord. We have to bring them here every week and re-condition them."

"That's unfortunate."

Long Feng's mouth settled into a grim line. He nodded to an agent, looked down at Azula for a moment, and then led the way into the next room. Azula took in each one carefully, noting the details of the training rings and the small cells where a few prisoners were kept. After nearly an hour of these routine checks, Long Feng stopped in front of a metal door and gave Azula a strange look. "Maybe you should wait out here."

Azula glared at him and raised her chin. Long Feng coughed into his hand, then unlocked the door.

The room was pitch black, damp and cold, and deathly silent. Azula lit a blue fire in her hand. The light danced across the walls, illuminating rows and rows of pale-skinned, blank-faced men. Azula's heart pounded in her chest.

"These are the ones who wouldn't cooperate." Long Feng's voice sounded small in the vast chamber.

Azula said nothing, her eyes on a guard who was leading a chained prisoner into one of the many metal cages they were kept in. The prisoner's black hair had been chopped haphazardly close to his head, and he was filthy, wearing only a brown smock. His pale face was narrow and gaunt, but unmistakably of Fire Nation heritage.

"I'm sure you understand, Princess, that if you are on my side then these men are your enemies, and my methods are only practical and necessary."

She had once had a battalion of earthbenders sent out on a metal ship, stripped, and suspended in midair until they died. It had been her idea that the remainder of the captured waterbenders should work during the hottest parts of summer on one of the driest islands of the Fire Nation, which was little more than a mass of rock. Azula felt no particular affection for these men other than that they were her people and superior to the earth and water peoples. "Have they been brainwashed?"

"To the point of numbness."

"They know nothing, then?"

"Some more than others."

The princess cast one last look around before extinguishing the fire in her hand, vowing to give these men the dignity of a quick death by fire rather than a slow, humiliating one under a lake. They were useless now.

Long Feng assembled all his agents in the largest chamber of Lake Laogai. They stood in perfect rows, all attentive. Azula picked out Mai, a fraction of an inch taller than the average agent and slightly thinner. While Long Feng postured himself in front of them on a platform, Azula stood behind him with a cup of tea in her hands, mentally reviewing the names of all the agents and what she had learned of the new recruits in the last two hours.

He explained in laborious detail exactly how and why Azula was there, and what part the Dai Li would play in her quest for world domination. She was almost surprised at how readily Long Feng had accepted this, but then, she had often seen people believe what they wanted to so badly, even when their reason told them otherwise. Her mother had been like that, she thought, wanting so desperately for Ozai to love her.

"Princess Azula will require a small, specialized group of agents to help her strategize and gain ample understanding of our practices." Long Feng looked back at her and gestured for her to come forward. Gracefully, the princess stood and looked at the lines of the Dai Li.

"I hope we'll work as well together as we did the last time I was here." Azula's eyes glimmered as she looked out over them. "Ji Hwan." The man stepped out of line and walked to the front, standing straight. "Chang. Qing. Shun. Yu. That is all."

Three Dai Li agents and two revolutionists wearing a Dai Li uniform stood before her as the rest of the agents marched out of the chamber.

"We'll start immediately, then." Azula walked off the platform and past the agents, knowing they fell into step behind her. "Our first aim will be training. You are too unskilled to fight the Fire Nation Army."

"You haven't seen us fight," Chang spoke up in a surly voice. Azula didn't turn her head.

"I've seen the way you walk, the way you breathe. Brute strength has no power on a firebender who is empowered by the comet. Secondly, we'll plan an invasion. Drawing the Fire Nation into our territory, which seemingly gives us an advantage because it is unfamiliar territory to them, is exactly what the Fire Nation is already prepared to do, so don't suggest that to me." Zuko was still hoping he would get his chance, Azula knew. "Thirdly, we'll weed out weaknesses within our own."

"What does that mean?" Qing asked, his voice echoing as the six walked through a hallway.

"Use your imagination," Azula responded.

* * *

Torches lined the chamber where Azula waited, breathing deeply, surrounded by five Dai Li agents. Each was poised for attack, their hands in front of them, as Azula searched among them for a weakness. 

She spun on her heel and slashed her arm through the air. The Dai Li agent's rock wall crumbled.

Rocks flew through the air in front of her--the men were on the ceiling, in the ground under her, there was rock and dirt all around her--Azula punched through the wall of one, hitting his stomach, as she simultaneously kicked behind her, hearing the sounds of another's defense shatter. One she glimpsed lying unconscious on the floor, but the others were renewing energy for their next attack. Azula felt the sweat sliding down her face and she straightened her forefinger and middle finger, separating the energy in the air. With a fast turn, she brought the lightening over her shoulder and shot it in the direction of one of the agents, not pausing to watch as he tried to block her attack.

The other two surged toward her, from either direction. Azula tensed her muscles and twisted in midair, sending a rain of blue fire down on both of them. Her feet landed firmly on the ground. She tossed her head to remove the hair that had escaped her braid from her eyes, and walked confidently to the door.

"Did you enjoy your view?" she asked as it swung open, revealing Long Feng. His eyes were still squinted from where he had peered through a slit of a window.

"Not much." he replied darkly, striding into the room. Azula followed, folding her bare arms. Hours of grueling training had left her warm, in some sort of absurd excitement. Energy flowed through her, pulsing quickly through her veins. Her fingers itched for her lightening.

Long Feng, on the other hand, looked displeased. It was understandable, as five of his best agents were unconscious on the rock floor in a rock room that was underground. Azula would have been righteously angry if her men had suffered so on a volcanic island in midday.

"You're just too much," he muttered, folding his arms. Ji Hwan stirred slightly, but didn't awaken.

Azula came and stood beside him. "The comet was a disappointment, like I said," she commented, "but, surely, not entirely."

"Then we can't win."

"That's why you have me," she smiled softly, resting a hand on his arm. "I can out think them, you know."

He didn't say anything. With a nod of his head, other agents ran into the room to assist the unconscious ones, with whom Azula would resume her mock planning tomorrow. Long Feng put his hand on her back and escorted her out of the chamber.

When the two were in the seclusion of the carriage, rattling its way back to the heart of the city, Azula leaned her head on Long Feng's shoulder. She still felt a rush of excitement and knew that the lack of her inhibitions could so easily be twisted into something else entirely. "I wish you trusted me," she said, her voice low and sounding faintly hurt.

"I do," Long Feng replied, too quickly. His eyes were focused out the window, to the snowy landscape and darkened sky.

"Apparently not," she said, sitting up.

Finally, his eyes riveted from the window and onto her. She trained her expression into doe-eyed hopefulness. "You think that, at any moment, I'm going to turn on you."

His mouth opened slightly and she could read all his emotions on his face. For a long while only the rattling of the carriage was heard.

"I'm terribly afraid that you will," he eventually replied, and Azula knew that her prey was finally caught.

* * *

"And I guess you think that letting our men die, scattered across the nations, is alright--Oh wait, I forgot, you're the Fire princess; _of course_ it's alright--" 

"Chang, shut up! She has a point; they would be a distraction--"

"Shun, you shut up! It wouldn't be a distraction, it would be a slaughtering--"

Chang's yell faltered when blue flames shot past his face and shattered his water glass. "That's enough," Azula said coldly. Chang gave her a look of pure hatred, which Azula pointedly ignored. "Yes, it would be a slaughtering, Chang. The sun will be in our troops' eyes and the wind will be blowing toward them. But I'm sure we both realize that what I have proposed is the _best_ way of capturing the Fire Nation fort."

Chang didn't meet her gaze, but looked skeptically at the map rolled out on the table in front of them. Beams of sunlight streamed through the high glass windows.

Ji Hwan's raspy voice filled the room. "She's right. A small group of our soldiers would be able to get in undetected--much better than your plan, Chang. I think hers is preferable to being burned to a crisp."

"You're a filthy traitor--" Chang spat under his breath.

"That's unnecessary." Qing, sitting on the end of the table opposite from Azula, looked disapprovingly at Chang. "We're all here to find the best way to restore the Earth Kingdom borders."

"I don't think that's her majesty's aim." Chang's green eyes, boring into Azula's, held a challenge.

Azula smiled at him. The map spread out in front of them was sadly lacking in detail, with half of the recently built Fire Nation forts missing, and the entire map gave more attention and detail to geography than political boundaries. New Ozai, drawn in exquisite detail, looked much larger than it was in reality. Ba Sing Se dominated the map, second only to the Great Divide. Azula was certain no Fire Nation cartographer ever took the time to draw every single crevice in the apparently gargantuan canyon. The Earth Kingdom liked their rocks a bit too much, in Azula's opinion. Across their map were little stone figures that represented Fire Nation and Ba Sing Se troops.

"Princess?" Ji Hwan, sitting to her right, nudged her.

"Chang, why don't you tell everyone what you think my aims are, exactly?"

His mouth curved downward. "To take back Ba Sing Se for yourself. It doesn't belong to you, or your people!" His voice rose as he talked, and he ended standing up, his finger pointed directly at her.

"Sit down, Chang," she directed. He glared at her. She stared coldly back at him. Finally, he returned to his seat.

She stood, squaring her shoulders and meeting the eyes of the Dai Li agents. "Nothing will get accomplished if any of you doubt me. Once my orders are questioned, I assure you, you will find the Fire Nation army knocking on your new little wall. Long Feng trusts me, and the Dai Li is not comprised of individuals, but of a collective group of earthbenders working under the direction of a leader. Dissent has accomplished nothing."

Shun, Yu, and Ji Hwan were all focused on her; Qing looked troubled and Chang looked furious.

"Perhaps we should move on," Yu said quietly, the first time Azula had heard him speak.

She nodded for him to continue and returned to her seat. Yu then stood, nimbly shifting a few of the pieces on the map. "The princess's plan was the most effective, although, obviously, a Fire Nation strategy. Not that that wouldn't be effective--I didn't mean any offense, Your Highness--but I don't think our soldiers would be able to execute it properly. I'm proposing this modification." He gestured to the board, then clenched his fist and punched in the air. The pieces slid into place.

Azula carefully surveyed Yu's battle plan. For a man who had never been in the military, it wasn't bad. Fewer Earth Kingdom soldiers would die and there was a good chance the fort would still be captured. However, it was heavily flawed in a few instances--one whole regiment would have to rely on luck not to suffer damage on their exposed side, and in another instance, he severely underestimated the strength of the firebenders. On the whole, Azula knew it would please the other agents, and since all the planning was posturing anyway, she nodded her assent.

As Yu sat back down, Qing cleared his throat.

"Yes?" Azula asked.

"I'm sorry to change the subject, but a question has been in the back of my mind all morning." He was standing now, the morning sun casting one side of his face into a slight shadow.

"We have other things to do. . ." Shun said under his breath.

"It's alright, Shun, I'm sure Qing will get to the point, eventually." Azula looked expectantly at the agent.

"Well. . . What is the plan, exactly, after we've regained control of parts of the Earth Kingdom? Will you. . . Will you give them back their previous status?"

Azula watched him carefully, playing with the end of her braid. "That seems unwise, I think."

"It seems best."

"How would they defend themselves? Without proper control from Ba Sing Se, the Fire Nation will snatch them back up quickly, I assure you."

Qing looked at the table. "And who will have that control?"

Azula folded her arms across her chest. She could feel the eyes of the other four upon her, waiting apprehensively for her answer. Her eyes bored onto Qing's head, and finally he looked back up.

"I don't want to see our city transferred from one tyrant to another." He drew himself up to his full height, bravery etched onto his face.

"You're all dismissed," Azula ordered, her eyes not leaving Qing's face. She heard three of the men file out, Qing glancing back and forth between the doorway and her as her gaze followed him out.

When she turned back around, Ji Hwan was still seated, his hat pulled low over his eyes. He slammed his heels onto the floor and the doorway closed with a resounding crunch. Azula, smiling slightly, sat on the end of the table.

"It's a terrible shame for Chang and Qing to be on their death beds," he rasped, "they're good agents. I like Qing."

"Affection doesn't really have a place in this world."

"At least, not yours or mine." Ji Hwan raised the brim of his hat. He was older, his ruddy face lined with a few wrinkles. The room they were sitting in was warming in the light of the morning sun.

He was watching her expectantly, almost smiling, as he lounged in his chair. "You're clever, Princess."

She smiled. "What makes you say that?" she asked coyly, one of her eyebrows arching.

He let out a hoarse laugh. "I'm not Long Feng, blinded by beauty and the seductive hope of power, you know. I'd be an idiot if I didn't know exactly what you were here for."

"And what am I here for?"

He grinned. "Not to help us, that's for sure."

Azula leaned back slightly, folding her arms across her chest. "And yet, you're here discussing my deception in secret, with me, rather than running to Long Feng and the rest of the Dai Li."

"He had it coming. I knew when this all happened that it would only last for so long."

Azula looked at her nails for a moment, pondering a question that had been more uncertain than Long Feng. "Do you think the Dai Li will follow me? Some of them have seemed more loyal to Long Feng than I remember." Her worry was genuine; though she was optimistic, it was still a variable that she hadn't been able to pin down.

Ji Hwan ran a gnarled hand along his beard. "Long Feng does what's best for Long Feng," he rasped, meeting her eyes, "and the Dai Li does what's best for the Dai Li."

Azula's slight anxiety was alleviated and she stood, walking over to one of the windows. It overlooked the palace gardens where a few nobles were frollicking through the garden. She could just make out the figures of Dai Li agents gripping huge pillars, hearing every word the nobles spoke.

"I said I wanted to weed out weaknesses," she said, her expression dark as she watched one of the girls splash in a fountain, "I want Da Chao and Tai Wen to be first."

Ji Hwan joined her at the window. "It will have to look like an accident."

"The process will have to be spread out very thinly across many different agents."

"Tell me what to do, Your Highness, and it will all be arranged."

She tapped a long, thin finger against her cheek as one of the nobles earthbended a chair for one of the girls. "They will have to be reassigned to a different route, just for one day. That should look routine. I know the different palace offices have squabbles all the time, so it shouldn't be too hard to arrange a spat between two of them. Mai, who is an agent under the name Hye, will also have to be assigned to a solitary route. The rest, I'll take care of."

Azula and Ji Hwan turned to each other, bowed, and exited the room.

* * *

**Bonus Material** This is just an extension of what Long Feng mentioned earlier in the chapter about what happened to the Joo Dees when the walls were brought down. 

**City of Walls (that fell)**

_Inside the walls of Ba Sing Se, there is no war. Ba Sing Se is safe, in Ba Sing Se there is order, in Ba sing Se we are free._

Joo Dee smiles, a smile of perfect white teeth between perfectly painted lips on a perfectly polished face. Nothing, not even a hair, is amiss. With vacant eyes she traverses the city, reinforcing order and reminding everyone of the values that kept Ba Sing Se impermeable for so long. She shudders when a poor boy sneaks into the upper ring, coughs politely when a scholar suggests studying what is going on outside the walls (as though anything really happened outside the walls), shakes her head when a shopkeeper mentions the Avatar. There is no need of the Avatar inside the walls. Ba Sing Se does not need someone to restore order; it is the epitome of order.

_There is no war in Ba Sing Se. There is nothing to fear behind the walls. There is no world outside of them. The walls protect us, so there is no danger._

Joo Dee thinks nothing of the disturbance within the Dai Li. She does not comprehend disturbance, or disorder. Under the Earth King these things do not exist, within Ba Sing Se, it is impossible for anything bad to happen. It does not matter who is in charge of the Dai Li, be it Long Feng or this young woman.

Joo Dee cannot understand when the Earth King disappears, when the young woman calls herself a princess, when the Fire Nation marches in, when the walls fall. . .

_There is no war in Ba Sing Se_--**There are no walls**--_There is no world beyond Ba Sing Se_--**There are no walls there are no walls there are no walls there are no walls**

Joo Dee's eyes flutter open to a shabby room in near darkness. She cannot move, nor hardly breathe, why she doesn't know. . . There is a constant constricting on her chest, and something she can't remember, and she can't smile, and she is so worried. . .

**The walls have fallen there is no order there is no civilization there is no Ba Sing Se the walls have fallen the walls are gone**

Joo Dee can barely focus on the face in front of her, but the gold eyes are crystal clear. "Joo Dee," the voice says, beautiful and commanding, "the Fire Lord has invited you to Lake Laogai."

Joo Dee suddenly feels the weight lift, and she can breathe. "I am honored to accept his request."

_There is no war under the Fire Lord. The Fire Lord keeps us safe. Under the Fire Lord there is order, under the Fire Lord we are free._


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:**I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender. 

**A/N:**Not sure about this one.

* * *

**Chapter 5**

* * *

Myung's booth was nestled among many, many others on one of the busiest streets in the Lower Ring. He sold medicinal herbs; the stall on his right sold fish and the one on his left sold spices. Consequently, he usually smelled terrible by the time he reached his apartment every night.

He worked two jobs--this one, as a salesman, and another as a healer's assistant. He hoped to one day become a healer in his own right, but right now he had a baby on the way and not enough time or money to devote to his studies.

He smiled kindly at a nicely dressed woman, who was wandering the streets and looking bored. She was carrying an umbrella, which Myung supposed was more for fashion than anything else as the sun wasn't very bright and it was too cold to rain. She glanced at him once, before turning down a side street. Myung sighed.

A few minutes later he looked up again to see two Dai Li agents gliding down the street. Myung busied himself with some jars and tried not to look conspicuous--had he filed for his new permit yet? Thankfully, he was no longer the only booth open on the street. The Dai Li didn't seem to notice him, their focus on a crumbling building across from him. It had been sagging for months and the owner had long since abandoned it, but was still trying to sell it, and so it stood empty. Myung had noticed yesterday that the beams supporting the roof looked even less stable than normal. Building inspection hadn't been under Dai Li jurisdiction years ago, but rather under another agency created soley for that purpose, but Myung supposed that in this time of turmoil Long Feng would be willing to change some old customs.

"Good morning," the lady running the booth on his left greeted Myung. He smiled.

"How is your daughter?" he asked, diverting his eyes from where the Dai Li had just entered the building.

The lady smiled. "Much better, since you treated that boil. Myung, you really were a lifesav--"

_Crash!_ Myung swung his head around--the building had caved in. He ran out from his booth, raced over to the wreckage and began throwing beams and rocks to either side, searching for the sight of green. . .

He saw red first, red blood against the crushed face of one Dai Li agent. Two others had joined Myung, and they soon uncovered the second agent, a huge splinter of wood piercing. . .

Breathing heavily, Myung tried every remedy he knew, but the two agents were dead. The commotion had alerted others and a crowd had grown around the tragic accident, he saw other Dai Li agents coming up to the scene. They questioned him, without feeling, and he answered as best as he could.

He glanced behind him, once, and saw the woman with the umbrella walking the opposite direction down the street.

* * *

Long Feng was muttering furiously under his breath as he rushed into his office, sliding stacks of parchment to either side and fumbling for a brush and ink. Half-interested, Azula looked up from where she had been reading some reports of Dai Li activities in her absence and eyed the man. 

"What's wrong?" she asked eventually, setting the reports to the side.

"Two Dai Li agents are dead," he replied without looking up, writing quickly across the paper.

"Who?"

"Da Chao and Tai Wen."

"How did this happen?" Azula inquired, rising from her seat and striding over to stand next to Long Feng. She rested one of her hands lightly on his back and skimmed the letter he had been writing, a furious castigation to a high-ranked official in his tangled web of administration.

He nearly snarled and pulled back from his desk. "I don't know. That's the problem, don't you see? They were never authorized to be in the Lower Ring, and certainly were never instructed to inspect dangerous buildings. One of the older, heavier buildings caved in on them."

Azula's brow furrowed. "But they must have been authorized, or they never would have gone."

Long Feng put his head in his hands and rubbed his eyes. "They were never authorized by me. . . All instructions pass through me first, or at least, they _should_."

Azula gazed at the desk for a long moment. "I think we'd better go see this building they were inspecting."

He looked up at her, dropping the brush. "Why?"

The princess laughed lightly, without amusement. "Don't you see? This wasn't an accident at all."

He glared at her, his jaw set. "What do you mean?" he asked darkly.

She surveyed her long, sharp nails. "Two agents, thinking they were supposed to be inspecting a building in the Lower Ring? That doesn't sound like mismanagement to me so much as it does a plot. I'd bet that building didn't fall on its own."

Long Feng stared at the princess, who seemed worry-free and highly sure of herself (as usual), and wondered if she had a point. "I'll send someone for our cloaks."

Azula and Long Feng waited in silence for two maids to bring their heavy, green winter cloaks. Azula's eyes remained on the ground as she slipped hers over her shoulders, one of the girls--how old was she? Fourteen? Fifteen?--holding it timidly for her. Briefly, Azula felt the girl's admiration of her. Dai Li agents came in and escorted them out.

"I don't see how you'll be able to find out much from a pile of rubble." Long Feng muttered. They passed from the lower levels to the ground floor, the midday sun casting dark shadows in the vaulted hallway. The Dai Li marched, silently, in front of and behind them.

She almost rolled her eyes, but the moment passed too quickly and she was focused again on the situation before her. They exited the palace, cold air rushing into every fold of Azula's clothing and leaving her ears numb, before they sat inside a carriage. Long Feng still looked skeptical, and almost fearful. The thought of mutiny would destroy him.

Azula smiled slightly at the thought.

They reached the Lower Ring without event and located the shambles of the building quickly. Long Feng climbed out of the carriage first, holding his hand out for the princess. Gingerly, she stepped onto the icy road and gained her footing.

The street was busy, crowds of people standing pointlessly around what was left of the building. Azula heard no less than seven versions of what had occurred as she walked from the carriage to the rubble, one of them involving the two agents facing off with her father and another with a spirit, losing terribly in all of the versions.

She stood on a stone, scanning the gray rubble for the clue Mai should have planted. Long Feng came up behind her, the hood of his cloak pulled down low over his brow to hide his face. His status as a rebel leader had gained him new fame in Ba Sing Se.

"See anything?" he asked skeptically. Wind blew against her and Azula gripped her hood closer to her neck.

"There," she pointed. Gesturing for him to follow, she walked over to where a beam was cracked smoothly in half. "These were broken before hand."

Long Feng's brow furrowed. "What does that mean?"

She gave him a sidelong glance. "It means that the collapse was planned," she said softly, as though she didn't want the Dai Li scurrying around the rubble to hear. Her eyes scanned the rubble again, searching for more proof of treachery.

"Sir?" Ji Hwan's raspy voice sounded from behind them, and Azula knew he had found it. "Look at this."

They walked over to where the agent stood, Long Feng gripping Azula's elbow as though he expected her to stumble. Ji Hwan was pointing at some metal contraption, twisted beyond recognition, embedded in a stone.

"Well," Azula turned to face Long Feng, "I don't think this building toppled over by itself."

He looked shocked, terribly afraid. "Ji Hwan," he gestured for the man to come over to him, "Were there any witnesses?"

"I'll find out, sir." he replied, running to talk to some other Dai Li agents. Azula stood next to Long Feng and watched the agents glide around the rubble, her hands clasped behind her back. Fog had rolled in, leaving the sky a pale gray.

Ji Hwan returned with an average looking man. Azula could tell he wasn't an earthbender by the way he held himself and almost cowered between the three of them.

"Tell me exactly what happened," Long Feng snarled, glaring at the man. Azula surveyed her nails while the man recounted the story.

Once he was done, she pounced before Long Feng had a chance. "Did you notice anything unusual? Anyone who shouldn't have been here?"

The man scratched the back of his head and kicked a rock with his toe. "Come to think of it, there was some rich-looking lady with an umbrella, if that means anything to you?"

Azula cast Long Feng a meaningful look. He returned her gaze for a moment before waving the man away and gesturing to the waiting carriage.

Hours later, when the sun had set and the fire in the bedchamber burned low, Azula ran her fingertips along Long Feng's jaw and forced him to look at her. Worry was evident in everything he did; his muscles were tense and he had been distracted the entire evening. Azula's golden eyes were falsely tender.

"This whole situation has me worried about you," she said softly, sitting next to him. He returned his gaze to the fire.

"I can't trust anyone anymore," he said gruffly, burying his face in his hands, "the treachery is among my own men, my own. . ." he groaned. The fire seemed to burn brighter and the shadows grew longer and sharper when Azula knelt in front of him, taking his hands into her own.

"Can you trust me?" she asked, willing him to look up at her. He did, the firelight casting his sunken, tired eyes into shadows, and he nodded slowly, tightening his hold on her hands. "Then let _m_e handle this. Let _me_ find out who would want to kill two of your most loyal agents. I have a feeling they would want to kill you, too." In a loving gesture she ran a hand along his bare arm. "As long as no one knows you're behind it, I should be able to find out whoever did this--and end them."

Weary and desperate to trust the beautiful young woman before him, Long Feng agreed to her plan.

He eventually fell asleep, tossing and turning in unfocused restlessness, while Azula stayed awake long into the night, planning every move that would crush the man next to her.

* * *

It was just warm enough in Ba Sing Se for the storm raging in the following evening to pour frigid rain rather than snow. The streets, completely drenched, were dark and deserted. Lights glowed in a few windows. 

Princess Azula pulled the hood of her black cloak down further over her eyes and watched her feet as she slinked through the twisting streets. Droplets of ice-cold water fell from the edge of her hood.

She stopped once in a shadowy alley to gaze upon the shreds of a poster. Long Feng's visage was imprinted upon it, looking appropriately somber and trustworthy. Though the script along the bottom was mostly missing, the princess knew by heart what it would have said, the words having rattled in her brain since she had first learned them--_Long Feng, redeemer of Ba Sing Se. Dai Li, keeper of order. To the downfall of the Fire Nation!_

Azula's eyes rested on it a moment longer as the ink of Long Feng's face seeped out, like dark blood, trickling down the stone wall.

Then she was off again, swiftly turning down one road and to the right on the next, until before her stood the Jasmine Dragon, the windows glowing with orange firelight. It reminded her, vaguely, of her uncle, in all its old-world charm and backwards thinking design. The princess wrenched open a side door and found herself in a dim hallway.

The sound of an exotic song, one she recognized as coming from one of the western islands of the Fire Nation, floated through to where she stood, along with the sounds of talk and cheers. She brought her temperature up high until her clothes were nearly dry and pushed her hood off her head, walking to the front room and taking a seat in one of the back tables, out of the light.

Smoke filled the air and there were so, so many men, all filthy rich and nearly drunk. The nightlife was different from the business during the day, and all the dark twisted desires these people hid during the day could come out. Azula watched, half-interested. The strings being plucked across the room sounding notes throughout the place. She saw Ty Lee, the shadows and amber glow of lamps glowing on her bare stomach as she balanced herself, one-handed, on a stool. One leg arched over her back and the other was still on the floor until she lifted it, following the rhythm of the music. Ty Lee could dance like none other; Azula thought it a vulgar circus practice.

Azula waited in the shadows of the dark tea-shop-turned-nightclub until the men were too drunk to care about performances and it would be light soon, anyways. Ty Lee shrugged on a light robe over her barely-there dress of silk, giving Azula one wide-eyed glance before smoothing her face into a smile and talking to one of the musicians. Azula looked at her nails--there was a chip in one, she would have to get it filed.

Ty Lee didn't join her until the tea shop had nearly cleared out; one man was passed out over a table and another serving girl was walking around with a broom.

"It's so good to see you," Ty Lee grinned, taking both Azula's hands. "How have you been?"

The princess smiled back and let Ty Lee embrace her. "I need you, Mingmei," she said softly, disengaging her hands from Ty Lee's and leaning back in her chair. Her eyes rested on a window behind Ty Lee, where the sky was just beginning to lighten.

In the corner of her eye she saw Ty Lee's expression change, a feeble attempt at seriousness. "What is it?"

Azula smiled. "Listen," she whispered, leaning in close, "in about a week an agent named Chang will come in here."

Ty Lee didn't question, because if Azula said, then it would happen.

"When he does you need to be here. Look your prettiest. Charm him, do whatever you have to do. Take him somewhere fairly private and then. . . Well, I'm sure you can guess."

Ty Lee just nodded, and Azula threw her cloak back around her shoulders. Without a word of goodbye, she left the tea shop and headed back to the palace.

* * *

"When you became Dai Li agents, you sacrificed yourself for the good of Ba Sing Se. You pledged alliance to each other, to the impenetrable city, because you knew that if Ba Sing Se was to be safe and free, it would happen because of _you_. You are the protectors of this city, without you it cannot live. Even after the city fell, the Dai Li lived on. Ba Sing Se gave birth to the Dai Li but the Dai Li sustained the city." Azula glared at the perfect rows of agents. "And now there is a weakness within you."

If they were startled, they gave no sign of it, every single one of them was deathly silent as they stared at Azula in her green garb. Though she was so obviously still Fire Nation, they remembered her as a Dai Li agent from years ago, and once a person was brought into the fold of the Dai Li, it was almost impossible to cast him or her out.

Azula stepped down off the platform. This cave felt familiar; she had given speeches to the Dai Li here before. She had been so young then.

"Some of you are willing to jeapordize the Dai Li for the sake of your own, selfish desires. The deaths of Da Chao and Tai Wen were not accidents. They were the result of very evil and sinister people claiming to be Dai Li agents, people that the Dai Li has esteemed and called its own for a long time."

Now she saw the stir, the shifting of eyes and the quiet coughs from those in the back.

"The Dai Li is built on mutual trust and common values. This agency has never been about the individual, but about the Dai Li, about the protecting of the city and the protecting of its own. A rebellion within the Dai Li can only mean the death of all of you."

Azula walked up to Chang, looking him straight in the eyes. His green eyes were full of spite and hatred as he met her glare. "Some people desire to hurt the Dai Li," she said softly, not looking away, "and unless we find them, and help them see the error of their ways, we will find the Dai Li in ruins."

She gave Chang the faintest of smiles before stepping back onto the platform. "The symbol on your uniform is not enough to identify your allies anymore. Any suspected traitors should be reported to me, immediately. Long Feng, our leader, has asked me to help us find these weaknesses among the Dai Li, and I am willing to help you.

"The Dai Li has been the greatest of agencies and we cannot allow disease to spread through it. Dismissed."

The agents filed out, in perfect rows as they always did, but she saw the heads turn and the hesitation of several agents. Qing hesistated the most, his brow furrowing as their eyes connected. Azula smiled and raised a hand in acknowledgement.

The princess exited one of the side doors, winding through dark passages with only her blue flame to light the way. The tunnels smelled of years of stale air and sent shivers up her spine--the ghosts of thousands of conspiracies and murders and traitors haunted the stone passageways.

Azula emerged in the Hall of Kings, a vast hall with high vaulted ceilings. Light poured in an eerie blue-green color from the high windows, illuminating the statues of previous Earth Kings as though the hall was under water. A few of the statues were in disrepair after the five-year-long Fire Nation occupation, but for the most part the hall had remained intact. The most recent statue was of the Earth King whose throne Azula had stolen, and she thought it was a good likeness. The statue had an appropriately naive, blank look and the dumb bear was carved next to him.

She spotted Haik, a young Dai Li agent who had never really made a name for himself, standing behind a statue. The Hall of Kings was one of the most boring posts for an agent to be assigned to, because very rarely was there anyone to watch inside of it. Long Feng had told her that it used to be very important, and they kept a watch there out of tradition. Haik just looked bored.

"Haik," she called out when she was close to him. He jumped up from his dosing and looked around wildly, bowing low when he saw her. "I've been looking through some files." She raised a hand for him to stand back up.

He stood silently.

"I am confused. . . I read that Sahak arrested you?"

Haik didn't look at her, nodding very quickly.

Azula's boots scraped against the stone floor as she shifted positions, running a hand along her long braid. "That seems very strange, as no reason was given."

He began wringing his hands a little. "He thought I needed reconditioning."

"Did you?"

"Maybe. I was new, I guess it was just initiation."

Azula raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps." She took a step closer to him. "I need your help, Haik."

Now he glanced at her, his green eyes full of confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I need you to keep an eye on Sahak. . . It's men like him that I was talking about. Men who will destroy the Dai Li from the inside out."

Haik's eyes were now stuck on the princess. It was the way she spoke, somewhat mysterious, attending to him alone. His conscience stabbed at him, but like so many before him, it was easier to follow the princess and all her subtle hints of power and pleasure that would come as a result than to listen to the very rational voice in his head reminding him that revenge would get him nowhere, that these men weren't really very bad, at least no worse than he, that he could get out of all this right now. . .

"It will be an honor to help you, Your Highness."

Azula smiled and left the Hall of Kings.

* * *

The Dai Li turned inside out in the next few days. Haik could hardly make sense of what was happening. Everyone suspected everyone else, distrust was rampant. Haik, who had never caused much commotion, found himself looking at every agent's actions with wariness. 

Groups began forming, and had Haik been more observant, he would have seen the lines along which they formed. Those who had been the most loyal to Long Feng and the most active in staging the revolution clumped together, and the larger group, those who had only ever wanted what was best for the Dai Li, stuck together. Again, had Haik been more observant, he would have seen through Azula's manipulation of the latter group and realized that her aims had less to do with the Dai Li and more to do with the Fire Nation.

But Haik wasn't observant, and without ever attending to it, he found himself analyzing off-handed comments as the markers of an agent's dissent. The groups became more tightly coiled, and the entire organization waited for the first arrest.

Inspired by Azula, Haik began to take a position of leadership within his group, reminding the other agents of their loyalties. He rallied many other agents around him and set off one afternoon to the Middle Ring.

Sahak was walking, alone, when Haik slid down from a rooftop.

"I know what you've been up to," Haik's lip curled as he loked at Sahak, facing him on the cold, empty Middle Ring street.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Sahak asked darkly, glaring down at the younger agent.

Haik's breath fogged in the cold air and he tightened his hold on his rock gloves, his fingers tingling in anticipation. He took another step forward, knowing the eyes of other agents were on him from where they hung on building rooftops.

"It means that you are a traitor to the Dai Li."

Sahak laughed. He was a tall, broad man with a scruffy beard, and had Haik not felt so strongly, he would have been as intimidated as he had always been. But in the light of the pale afternoon sun, Haik could feel nothing but anger for the _traitor_ in front of him.

Sahak faltered at the look on Haik's face. "You're serious."

"Do you deny working with the rebel forces?"

"Only to rid Ba Sing Se of the Fire Nation--"

"In doing so you would also rid the city of the Dai Li! You would have our orderly city thrown into anarchy--"

"I would have it under its own rule!"

Haik was livid. "Long Feng has given the city its own rule."

Sahak's wide eyes darted to the walls, where agents were silently sliding down and filing behind Haik. He looked back and forth, then back to Haik. "With the Fire Nation princess at his side!"

"Princess Azula wants to leave Ba Sing Se intact. You would destroy the entire culture."

"She brought down our walls! How is that leaving it intact?"

"The Dai Li lived on. The Dai Li brought down the walls, not the princess," Haik replied in a low voice. He turned to the agents behind him. "Arrest him!" He jabbed a finger in the direction of Sahak, then stood as metal chains flew out from the hands of the other agents and clamped down on Sahak's wrists and feet.

"Take him in for reconditioning."

The anger disappeared from Sahak's expression and his face paled. "No! I never turned against you! Stop!"

His imploring was in vain, as he should have known, because he had been trained just as they had to be silent, unfeeling.

His voice faded away as the agents dragged him down the street, at the end locking him into a metal carriage. Haik watched, a numbness filling his mind. He blamed it on the cold, and mechanically retraced his steps to the palace, not really thinking about anything as he did so. The week had gone by so quickly. Various conspiracy theories floated through his mind, none really taking shape.

Once inside the palace, he turned down a narrow side hallway and took the steps leading to Long Feng's office. To his surpise, the large door was ajar, green firelight glowing from inside it. He could hear the murmur of voices, but without really thinking, he walked in.

"Oh. . . Sorry." was all he could manage to squeak out at the sight of two very capable, powerful benders glaring at him. Long Feng and Azula turned to face him, the princess' hand slipping away from Long Feng's arm.

"What do you want?" Long Feng's voice was harsh, his expression frightening. Haik looked at Azula for support and found none in her icy glare.

Still stunned, Haik struggled to find his voice. "I, um. . . Sahak has been arrested."

Long Feng's eyebrows flew up and he looked at Azula. "Sahak?"

"You're surprised?"

Long Feng's eyes lingered on her for a moment before he turned back to Haik. "You're dismissed."

"Wait." Azula held up a hand for the quickly retreating agent. "You'll oversee the reconditioning?"

Haik nodded.

She waved a hand for him to leave and he flew out of the doors, utterly confused. He didn't even pay attention as he found a carriage to take him to Lake Laogai, his mind on the embarrasing situation he had stumbled into--why was he so stupid?

He was further confused by the way they had appeared, as more than partners. . . They had seemed intimate. He pushed the thought out of his mind, deciding to leave gossip to less respectable people.

* * *

_You are safe now._

Sahak stirred. There were voices, everywhere, inside his head, outside him. . .

_There is nothing to fear._

A light flashed.

_There is nothing to fear inside Ba Sing Se._

Something was nagging at him. He'd been here before, before, before. . . He was so tired. . . A light flashed again. Had he been on the other side of that light? No, that wasn't right. . . Sahak wondered if there had ever been a time when he wasn't sitting here. A light flashed.

_The Dai Li protects Ba Sing Se. The Dai Li gives the city order._

Strange images came to mind, of silent men in green uniforms, slinking through a city. . . So many buildings, always growing. Walls were crashing down.

A light flashed before his eyes like a bolt of lightening--

"No!" he shouted. "No! I'm not safe, not safe, not safe!"

_You are safe now._

Someone was pressing him against the chair. Where was the earth? All he felt was cold, cold metal. A face came to mind. "Where is. . . Where is. . ." The name wouldn't come. "I'll kill him!"

_There is nothing to fear inside Ba Sing Se._

Haik frowned. This was taking too long, and his blood ran cold at the thought of Azula coming down here to check on the progress. He had arrested two more agents that day and Sahak was the first to be reconditioned. Azula's voice still rang in his ears, "We must protect the Dai Li at _all_ costs."

He walked out of the dark room and headed for another one, feeling the familiar damp chill of Lake Laogai in his bones.

The Dai Li had rallied around him as soon as he proved himself a leader. He hadn't known what to do at first, but it quickly became evident just how right the Fire Nation princess was about needing a cleansing process. Agents like Sahak were bent on destroying the Dai Li. Distrust was rampant among the Dai Li, and many were eager to prove themselves as loyal agents.

His conscience bothered him, every once in awhile, but Haik had long ago concluded that old wives' tales about "doing right by others" got no one anywhere. He was certain that this was for the best, if the Dai Li was to stay in power.

In a small store room he retrieved a vial and walked briskly back to the other dark room, where several agents were still struggling with Sahak. "Use this," Haik said, handing the vial to one of the agents beside the chair where Sahak was thrashing.

The agent just stared at it. "We've never used that on earthbenders."

The liquid had proven effective on the firebenders in suppressing their enhanced bending abilities. There were a few cases that had resulted in insanity, but it was rare. "I know," Haik replied, still holding out the vial. "It is neccessary."

The agent stared at the vial a moment longer, his eyebrows creased together, before hesitantly taking it.

Haik watched as the agent wrestled to pour the contents down Sahak's throat. Instantly, Sahak relaxed, his eyes only on the revolving light.

"He'll never fully recover," the agent said quietly, the glass vial pressed in his palm.

"It doesn't matter. He was a traitor." Haik said, turning away.

* * *

Mai readjusted her plain green tunic, following two other agents down the streets into the Lower Ring. She had watched, half-interested, as over the past two weeks multiple Dai Li agents had been accused, arrested, and brainwashed--or, as the Dai Li colored it, "reconditioned." The agents were malleable material for Princess Azula, unwilling to lose their power for anything. Mai had recognized that thirst for power as the undercurrent of the whole affair rather quickly; the Dai Li would have done anything to hold onto this last foothold. They were lucky Azula admired them, or the organization would have been destroyed years ago. 

The only one who had dared to say anything against her was Qing. Mai had yet to decide how she felt about this man, he lacked Azula's dark charm but had his own intrigue, seemingly believing that the Dai Li could stand for something more than arbitrary power. It was no wonder Azula didn't like him, maybe even less than she liked Chang; it was also no wonder so few agents were turning up for his secret meeting.

Mai sighed as she filed into the dark back room. This building in the Lower Ring was chosen, she guessed, to avoid suspiscion of Qing's meeting. Too bad Azula already had him pegged as a rebel leader, and too bad Mai was in the meeting. It was all very predictable; Azula always had the upper hand on these people and they never realized it until they were shocked to find she had destroyed them.

Dai Li agents, looking strange in plain clothes disguises, filtered into the room after Mai. Xi, the agent Mai was still blackmailing, had been invited but declined with a reminder to Qing that it was best not to stir up trouble during this "cleansing process."

There were fifteen agents in the room when the meeting began, hardly enough to overcome anyone. Mai took a seat in the corner and rested her head against the rough wall, resisting the urge to pull out a knife to play with. . .

Qing stood in the front of the room. "I know it was a great risk for us to come here, but I think the risk is worth it, considering the cause."

Mediocre public speaker.

"When I joined the Dai Li twenty years ago, I wanted to be a part of the most elite team of earthbenders in the world. The Dai Li was larger than life--silent, self-contained, deadly. What I discovered was different. I took seriously the idea that it was our job to protect Ba Sing Se's cultural heritage. Now, just like before, this foreign princess is sabatoging our organization."

"Long Feng trusts her," one agent spoke up.

"Only because she's warming his bed," another laughed.

Mai's eyes widened, and she didn't hear anything for a long time. So _that_ was how Azula had gained Long Feng's trust so quickly. Mai couldn't decide whether she was impressed by Azula's ingenuity or disgusted by her methods.

". . . only been seeking out those who spoke against the Fire Nation." Qing was speaking again, and Mai tried to be attentive to his boring voice. "Why are the traitors to the Dai Li also those who helped Long Feng regain power? Because this _isn't_ a 'cleansing process.' We're brainwashing ourselves, and serving the Fire Nation in doing so!"

One had to give him credit for being willing to stand up against his fellow men. Mai wondered if it had occured to him that most of the Dai Li would rather be in power under the Fire Nation thumb than out of it.

"I'm willing to stand against Princess Azula," Qing announced, "and I hope all of you will stand with me."


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender

**A/N:** Please, if you've gotten this far, review :)

* * *

**Chapter 6**

Mai unlocked the servant's door into the King's Chamber, which was where Azula had told her to come. The castle, with all its intricate passageways and Earth Kingdom architecture, was deathly silent in this early morning hour. The wooden door scraped open and Mai waited in the blackness.

There was the flickering light of flame, and then Azula rounded the corner, the blue fire in her hand. Mai was surprised by the gauntness of the princess's face--but perhaps it was only the severe shadows. Azula looked tired, but still very much herself. Though her long black hair was loose and her dressing gown took away her regal appearance, Mai could still see the familiar fire in her eyes.

"Qing's started," Mai leaned against the stone wall.

Azula rolled her eyes. "This rebellion was over before it begun."

Sighing, Mai sunk down onto the carpeted floor and yawned. "He's one of those idealists, you know? Makes everyone feel like they can do something."

Azula's brow furrowed together. "Those idealists cause us far too much trouble."

"At least they're easy to deal with." Mai played with the hem of her uniform's sleeve, then removed the hat that shaded her face.

Azula coughed into her unlit hand and her flame flickered slightly. The small room was constricting, not that Mai minded much. She did feel stifled, though, stuck in this boring city. "Qing should be arrested now," Azula said, raking her hand through her tousled hair.

Mai stood up, tied her hat back on, and felt for her throwing knives in her sleeves. "I'll go."

Azula stood still for a moment, contemplating the situation, and then responded, "I'll go too. Just give me a minute--"

"Need to pile up pillows on your side of the bed?" Mai sighed, lamenting how quickly she'd gone from finding this relationship intriguing to boring.

Azula cocked an eyebrow. "While I'm sure that Zuko was stupid enough to fall for that, Mai, that's not what I'm doing." She turned around and her back became dark, sillhouetted by the light. "No, luckily Long Feng is a deep sleeper. . ." Her voice trailed off as she rounded the corner and the small room became dark again.

Mai leaned against the wall and thought about correcting Azula about the nature of her relationship with Zuko, but decided the outcome wasn't worth the effort. Azula would find it hilarious, anyway, that Zuko had been the upstanding picture of Fire Nation chivalry and honor and, aside from all the public displays of affection, they had never really done anything. That was for marriage, according to Zuko, and to Mai the idea had only been vaguely entertaining, so she hadn't minded.

Azula came back dressed in a Dai Li uniform with a thick cloak around her shoulders. Mai fell in behind her, and the two women wound their way down the dark staircases, the light of Azula's blue fire letting them see only a few feet in every direction. When they reached one of the main hallways, moonlight poured in from the windows and crystals lamps lit small circles on the walls. Azula extinguished her fire and they walked determinedely through the maze of hallways.

Azula's slight headache from earlier had alleviated with Mai's news and the promise of an impending attack--the second to last, by her hand, before Ba Sing Se was once again under the Fire Nation crown. She could almost taste the victory, and she was ready for it, she longed for it. There was so much promise in the next few days. They came to a hallway lined with doors, and Azula opened one.

In the room, which had two desks and was covered with papers, they found Ji Hwan and Shun relaxed against each others' backs, both snoring slightly. Azula kicked Ji Hwan's boot. "Get up."

He lifted his head and peered at her from under the brim of his hat "At this hour?" he rasped.

Azula raised an eyebrow and glared at him.

The two glanced at each other, then got up and followed Mai and Azula through the palace and out onto the grounds. Azula quickly calculated whether she should call for reinforcements and decided after a moment that it was best to do this silently, with only a few realizing what was happening. Before anyone could form their own opinions, Qing would be labeled a criminal and he would fade away from everyone's minds.

The four of them filed out into the Upper Ring, newly blanketed in white snow. Stars pierced the dark night sky and the moon lit their way as they snaked through the streets, moving out and down into the coarse, dirty Lower Ring. The snow here was already churned into slush by carts and ostrich-horses and dingy from the constant motion. Even now, life buzzed throughout the area and orange and green lights shone from the windows.

Azula let Mai take the lead. They moved through throngs of people to a small apartment building that was better off than many Azula had seen. Silently, she led them up the stairs, treading softly on the rickety floor boards. They stopped in front of a door with peeling paint, a window in the hallway casting pale moonlight across it. Stepping aside, Azula and Mai let Ji Hwan open the door and step inside first.

Azula heard a murmur, and then Ji Hwan's voice, "I'm not here to join you, Qing."

With a wry smile, Azula let a flame flare up on her palm and stepped into the doorway. Qing stood in the center of the darkened room, his face now very pale.

Shun stepped in as well, and before Qing could even make a move he had handcuffs fastened to his wrists. The man's attempt of subversion ended before it started, they exited silently into the cold night.

* * *

The metal handcuffs had bruised Qing's wrists during the night. Shunned by the agents whom he had known for years, denied by those who had sworn to stand up against the princess with him, he was escorted into the throne room. Hatred filled him at the sight of the foreign woman relaxed against the golden throne.

She stood up, undeniably beautiful, and her eyes rested on him. Dressed in only a brown smock, Qing refused to look up at her, somewhat ashamed of his appearance, partly angry, and very afraid.

"You've made yourself a traitor to the Dai Li," she said. The vast throne room was deathly silent. Qing's mouth felt dry.

Azula walked down from the platform upon which the throne sat, standing directly in front of Qing. "However, I'm still willing to offer you redemption."

Qing stared at the stone floor, feeling the hard metal cuffs against the bones of his wrists, trying not to listen to her.

"Admit yourself as a traitor, and you will be reinstated--no brainwashing, no punishment." she was speaking low, only to him.

He knew that unconditional forgiveness was something Azula would never offer, but the idea was tempting. . . Exhausted, he wanted to believe she had changed. He wanted to believe that even with her on their throne, things could go on as they always had. He wanted to stand with the other Dai Li agents, blind to the changes she would inevitably make, clinging to the hope that even as Ba Sing Se deteriorated the Dai Li would still be able to cling to power. . .

Qing looked up at her now. "It is the Dai Li's duty to protect Ba Sing Se."

She folded her arms across her chest and looked at him expectantly.

"You're the Fire Lord's daughter. We never should have trusted you, and we never should have held the power of the Dai Li as more important than the autonomy of the Earth Kingdom."

The princess raised an eyebrow and she gave him a half-smile. "I don't think the rest of the Dai Li would be willing to hear that. You've really turned against them."

"I swore allegiance to the Dai Li years ago." he replied, knowing that he was about to resign himself to his fate.

"Then do it again."

"This isn't the Dai Li," he said brokenly, unwilling to look up at the other agents standing around him.

She looked at the other agents, then turned and walked back up to the throne. "You decide what to do with him."

For a moment, Qing willed the agents to turn against her, once and for all. His hope was in vain, and they escorted Qing back to his cell.

* * *

Azula ignored the crash with which Long Feng entered the sitting room, knowing that there was now a hole in one of the stone walls. Sitting comfortably beside a low table, she didn't look up even as she realized he was furious. "Whatever you're angry about, I'm sure you're overreacting."

"No, Azula, I'm not overreacting." His deep voice was just barely shaking with anger. Azula picked up a brush and wrote down a few notes on one of the Dai Li agendas she was reviewing.

"What is it, then? I'm a little preoccupied."

"Why is _Qing_ in custody? Surely you wouldn't put one of my best agents in prison, Azula."

She sighed, set down the paper, and gave him her full attention. "You're acting like a child. Sit down for a moment and _think_."

Long Feng stared at her in disbelief for a moment and then took a seat on the other side of the table. They both sat rigidly, with every air of nobility and refinement befitting to their class, and as his temper cooled they began the more common, structured conversation at which they were so adept.

"I'm afraid, Long Feng, that Qing has proven himself to be part of the conspiracy against you." Azula's words were carefully spoken, with little inflection, as she watched him.

"Is that so?" He folded his hands on the table, distrust etched onto his face. "Have you, then, any record of his crimes?"

"Qing was not compliant to the neccessary cleansing process within the Dai Li. He tried to organize a small group of dissenting agents. Luckily, he was arrested before anything could be put into motion."

"What were the aims of this group?"

"You need me to clarify that for you? You know I wouldn't disrupt anything that was not going to put you in danger."

He was silent for a moment. His eyes fell to the table, to the green wall to his right, to her hands resting on top of the table. . . Wanting to believe her, but unsure of the truth, he took a deep breath. "Yes, I know."

Azula smiled consolingly and took up the brush again.

"But Azula? You should speak with me before any further arrests."

The princess looked up at him with glittering eyes. "Yes, of course. But I don't think any more arrests will be neccessary."

* * *

Ty Lee recognized Chang, even without the Dai Li uniform, from Mai's description--tall, muscular, handsome, perpetually angry. He came into the Jasmine Dragon alone and took a seat in the corner, casting brooding looks at anyone who came too close.

She sauntered over to him, one hand on her hip and the other balancing a tray of food. "Can I interest you in anything?" she asked sweetly.

He gave her a cursory glance. "Do you have anything to stop this headache?"

She smiled. "How about a date?"

He gave her another glance, his eyes lingering on her pretty face and then her toned figure. "Well. . . that would be a distraction. . ."

She grinned. "I also have some tea that will do the trick. Wait here until I get off." Grinning widely, she poured him a cup of tea and flounced back and forth between tables, making sure to wink and flirt whenever he looked bored.

Two hours later she fumbled to get the key into the lock of a rented room in the Middle Ring, giggling as Chang tickled her side. Every feminine charm she knew had been employed to snare this man, and he was oblivious to her underlying motive. The door flew open and the couple fell into the sparsely decorated room. Chang slammed the door and pressed Ty Lee against it, kissing her hard. She was excited, enthralled by his attention and strangely pleased at the thought of her upcoming betrayal.

She slid his tunic off, revealing a tanned, muscular chest. Earth Kingdom men were so exotic, so different from the pale-skinned, amber eyed, hot tempered men of the Fire Nation. His brown eyes sent chills up her spine. Both laughed and she playfully pushed him onto the low bed, climbing across him.

Ty Lee leaned in and kissed him. "Sorry," she laughed. Confusion crossed Chang's face for a split second before she jabbed her fingers against his muscles and his chi stopped moving, permanently.

She couldn't help but look back at him before she left the room. Who knew how long it would be before someone found him? Ty Lee wished she could be as cold-hearted and composed as Azula or as distant as Mai, just so that she couldn't feel this guilt. . . "I really am sorry." Her voice seemed small in the silent room, and even Ty Lee knew that a whispered apology didn't change the act.

* * *

In winter, the snow is very rarely pure, pristine white, as the sky and the sunlight and the candlelight burning in windows tint it many shades. In the early morning, it is violet and dark; when the sun sets it is blue streaked with pure gold. On these days the weather seems more bearable, as life is breathed into the frigid air.

And then there are other days, like this one, where every color blends in with the lifeless, cold gray of the sky. And there is nothing but the cold air, one can feel nothing but bleakness. This mood settled over Ba Sing Se and the wind howled and the people in the Lower Ring huddled in clusters in the beaten houses; and the people in the Middle Ring prayed their business wouldn't drop and that their houses were snug enough for the icy storm coming; and the people in the Upper Ring lamented the nasty turn and scarcely left their warm houses.

And the Dai Li ran for cover, as they always did, hiding in crevices and under the ground and pretending that they didn't feel chilled to the bone, maybe because of the weather and maybe because all the events surrounding them were coming to a head, and maybe both.

And the palace sealed its doors and Long Feng ordered the Comittee for City Health and the Committee for Public Relations and the Committe for Inter-Ring Organization to make sure the city didn't die off in the storm that was brewing. No one knew when it would arrive and for how long it would last, but the bleak cold air and the whistling winds were assurance enough that it was coming, and would damage plenty.

And the Fire Nation princess stood outside, listening to the wind howl around her and imagining the storm, when it came. For this storm would be dry--a mixture of ice and lightening, a thunderstorm in the dead of winter. Draped in green robes that blocked the wind, with a hood that billowed with every gust pulled over her head, she waited and watched.

When it came, the storm would be swift and destructive, and how much of Ba Sing Se could possibly survive?

* * *

Azula watched as long rows of Dai Li agents marched into the cave, then took her place at the front, and began.

"Thanks to your efforts, the Dai Li has now been cleansed of the disease that had ravaged it for longer than it ever should have. The traitors are behind bars, and the Dai Li is reclaimed.

"Unfortunately, I have the most distressing truth to share with you, because you are the Dai Li--_We_ are the Dai Li--and it is imperative that nothing I know should be withheld. This will likely be a shock to all of you. But believe me, it is the truth, and anyone who does not believe me is putting the Dai Li itself in danger.

"I have been put in a position to know the most intimate thoughts of Long Feng, our leader. Long Feng has served you well these last few years. As some have said, he removed the Fire Nation from its position over the Dai Li and gave Ba Sing Se back to you.

"This, however, is a grave misconception. Long Feng's work has not serviced anyone but himself.

"Even now, can you not feel his hand upon you? Even now, is he not hailed as the redeemer of Ba Sing Se? And what is the Dai Li? Nothing, for he is the_ head_. Your power only exists within him. Was it not better with the Fire Nation, when at least you were equals? I know what position you held in the Fire Nation--I gave you that position. You retained nearly all of your power, and it was a smooth transition.

"Long Feng promised you much but in the end he raped the Dai Li of everything that defined you. Your power now belongs to him, you identity resides in him, Ba Sing Se turns at his whim and not at the Dai Li's, as it is supposed to. It is a tragedy that Long Feng should turn out to be no better than the traitors who ravaged the Dai Li like a disease, but it is our duty to rid the Dai Li of anything that might cause it to rot. Where rests your loyalty: a man, or an organization? You as men will die, but as a part of something bigger, you will surely live forever.

"Who stands with me?"

Azula wanted to laugh at the chorus of "I" sounding throughout the cave.

* * *

Long Feng rubbed his forehead. These reports were undeniably depressing, nearly fifty of his best agents had been taken into custody and four were dead. He leaned back in his chair, letting his mind wander to the chill of the room. The storm had passed with relatively little destruction, but the air was still icy. The fire was dying in the hearth. He'd call someone in to revive it soon.

The image of orange flames springing from Azula's fingertips came to mind. He pushed it away, looking at the reports again.

A pattern became evident as he read through them, and fear gripped Long Feng. He denied the possibility to himself, but it was staring up at him--every one of these agents had been instrumental in his rebellion. Surely Azula wouldn't. . .

She wouldn't.

Long Feng didn't have delusions of them being impossibly in love and getting married. He'd never wanted that, thought it unneccessary. Nevertheless, he'd found his admiration for the Fire Nation princess growing over the years, his hatred for her tinged with it, and after her humble plea for help his worries had subsided. She had been so sincere, so charismatic, trusting her had required no leap.

He stood up and walked over to the fire, staring into it. The crystals that gave this fire its light were nothing like the orange flames he had battled for the last five years. These didn't rage out of control, they gave orderly flames. He remembered asking Azula once, a few weeks earlier, to renew the fire and she had been reluctant to, claiming that this fire was aritificial and that manipulating it was a nuisance. He'd let the issue drop.

Long Feng rubbed his forehead again. He was thinking about nonsense, now. Opening the door, he expected to see two Dai Li agents standing just outside. The hallway was empty.

Fear filled him suddenly, and he knew that something was going wrong. He slammed his heel into the earth and pushed his fists forward; a door opened in the wall. He ran up the stairs to the Hall of Kings, hoping that his suspicions were wrong.

* * *

History had a funny way of repeating itself. Just like before, Azula had fooled Long Feng into thinking that he could control her, that trusting her would still leave his power intact.

She turned to look at him as he walked out of an earthbended hole in the wall. She had been expecting him, had given him the full volume of recent reports on purpose. In a cruel move she looked more beautiful now than she ever had; her long black hair hung loose down her back, her eyes were accented with makeup a young maid had applied for her, she had purposely worn the most flattering Earth Kingdom style. Long Feng's resolve faltered, just a little, at the sight of her--she could see it in his eyes.

"What is it?" she asked. Twenty Dai Li agents were lined up behind her, all silent, all eyes on Long Feng.

The Head of the Dai Li's face became stony again. "What is going on?" He gestured to the agents standing behind her.

"Them?" a small smile crossed her face. "You placed them in my command."

"Are you turning them against me?"

She smiled now. "The Dai Li needed to be rid of treachery. Just as you said."

Silence came between them, the vast hall seeming to buzz with anticipation. Blue-green light cast shadows across the room, the huge Earth King statues towering over them. Long Feng was glaring at her, analyzing her words.

His face contorted in rage. "Rid of treachery? You filthy--" He raised his hands--

Before he could move, the Dai Li attacked.

Rocks shot from their fingers, racing toward him. Long Feng disappeared into the earth, leaving suspense in the air for a long moment as the rocks ricocheted off of a statue. He resurfaced next to Azula, who had not moved. Immediately two agents rammed their heels into the ground and sent Long Feng soaring into the air. He crashed against the shoulder of a statue.

He fell to the ground, regained his footing, and thrust his arms out. The statue's head flew off, flying toward Azula--three agents moved and it crumpled to dust just before it reached her.

Long Feng crouched low to the ground, and Azula felt the earth around her start to crack--two statues scraped out of place and hurtled through the air to crush her. Dai Li agents lined up and both statues were redirected to Long Feng, who immediately raised a rock shield.

Once the statues had glanced off, Long Feng raised the earth below him and it started rolling, a mass of earth propelling him toward her. The agents moved and he fell off--three agents took a stance and another statue flew toward him.

The rock wall Long Feng raised wasn't strong enough and the statue crashed through, leaving Long Feng immobile under the debris.

The agents moved for a final attack, but Azula held up a hand. The agents lined up behind her.

The princess walked forward, stopping just in front of Long Feng. One of his arms was jutting out at an unnatural angle.

"I was a fool," he said hoarsely, glaring at her.

"I know." Sunlight poured into the hall, brighter with every passing moment, casting dark shadows against the ground. "What did you really expect?"

She saw him break, his anger turning to dejection. "I thought you loved me." His voice was almost too low to hear, as though he was ashamed that the words even crossed his mind.

Azula stepped forward, ignoring his groans of protest as her weight pressed down further the stones pinning him to the floor. The hall grew brighter behind her, so that all Long Feng could see was bright sunlight behind her and her dark, shadowed face. Her beautiful gold eyes bored into his.

She leaned close to him, pressing her palm over his heart for balance. "I don't have a heart." she whispered into his ear, and twisted her wrist--

He gasped for air, no sound escaping from his mouth as the pain of flame pierced his heart, and died.

Azula stood up and walked back to the Dai Li agents. "Clean up." she ordered, gazing at the demolished Hall of Kings. Without a second glance at Long Feng, she left to find Mai and Ty Lee and send a letter to Zuko.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender

* * *

**Chapter 7**

The Fire Nation came in much as they had before: fierce and red, spreading over the city like disease. Ba Sing Se cowered in fear and nothing could be done, because the Dai Li was standing still. Once the Dai Li was brought into existence, Ba Sing Se couldn't survive without it. The citizens stood in doorways, in windows, watching the soldiers pass by and recognizing that this was how things were, now and forever.

Zuko didn't look around as he passed by. His komodo rhino shuffled along with the rest of the soldiers, and even though the Crown Prince was supposed to ride victoriously into the city he was too busy remembering the last time he was in Ba Sing Se. He could smell it in the air, feel it across his skin, that quality unique to Ba Sing Se. It was inexplicable, undefinable, and Zuko hated it.

He guessed the rings had been reestablished as soon as Long Feng had some semblance of control, and everything had fallen into place after that. Great, great, great.

Zuko shook his head. His thoughts weren't making any sense, and memories kept flashing across his mind--hadn't he and his uncle gone to dinner at that woman's house? She looked familiar. . . He looked away from the woman, who was standing on her doorstep, and decided he was making things up. He wished he wasn't back in this infernal city.

His sister was waiting outside of the palace for him, Mai and Ty Lee flanking her. They had taken on their Fire Nation garb again, and it suited them. Mai looked dark and beautiful, in a way that only made Zuko sick with guilt and other things that he had never put a name to; Ty Lee looked pink and pretty, though her hair was still down in an Earth Kingdom style; Azula looked fierce and like his little sister he had always known. Great, wonderful.

He climbed off of his komodo rhino and bowed to his sister.

"It's great to see you, Zuko." she said, not unsincerely. Azula seemed to be in some kind of mood of absurd excitement, happy in that kind of way that she used to be when she threw stuff at the turtle ducks or pulled the wings off of bugs. Mai wasn't looking at him, and Ty Lee was grinning widely.

"Yeah, sure, you too." he responded. This mood he was in. . . a constant state of confusion, dislike, distrust, unhappiness. It wasn't unlike his usual moods but it was sharper, more painful. He rubbed the back of his head. His scalp itched but he'd put his hair in a bun with his crown, so it was no use.

"Would you like a tour?" Azula asked sweetly, gesturing to the palace behind her. A large Fire Nation emblem was draped above the large doors.

Zuko rubbed his arms, trying to warm them against the cold. "I'd really just like to get settled in."

Azula cocked an eyebrow. "Very well. I'll have. . ." she trailed off, an evil look twisting her face, "Mai, would you mind showing Zuko to his chamber?"

"Not at all," Mai said, turning swiftly away and walking toward the doors. Zuko glared at Azula, sighed, and followed Mai.

She set a brisk pace, darting around corners so quickly that Zuko was nearly running to keep up. This was adding a finishing touch on his strange, wonderful day. How nice.

Mai slowed when they reached one of the upper levels, still ignoring him. Zuko sighed, rubbed his neck, and racked his brain for something to say. "So. . . How have you been?"

She ignored him.

Eventually they reached a door and she shoved it open, then moved to sweep past him. Roughly, Zuko grabbed her arm and forced her to look up at him. She struggled under his grip.

"C'mon, Mai, Azula's going to keep forcing us together until it's not funny anymore. Can't we be civil?" he pleaded with his eyes but his fingers were still digging into her arm.

"We've been plenty civil," her voice was dull and her eyes lacked fire, "I don't see why we have to be best friends."

"I just. . ." Zuko wanted to explain to her about his awful mood and his guilt about being back in Ba Sing Se (without his uncle) and his guilt about their relationship, but the art of conversation had too long ago been lost between them.

She raised her eyebrows. "Are you going to start crying?" she asked acidly.

He released her and slammed the door to his chamber in her face.

* * *

A week went by before Zuko sought out his sister or her companions again, preferring the company of his men and the occasional palace servant. Not good company, but at least better than that of three women who were, more or less, heartless.

As usual lately, he did a lot of self-analysis in this time. Self-analysis when he was younger had been incomplete, usually leaving out the most important details (like the fact that the unattractive scar across his face was from his own father) and, later, mostly brooding on the unhappiness of his life. Here he was again, unhappy and restless. He took to spending long hours in his room, just meditating in the dark.

It was just like the old days, when he'd done the same thing on his ship. His stupid, stupid ship chasing the stupid Avatar all across the stupid world. It was just like a couple years ago on his other ship, the bigger one, that had led the campaign to seize the Northern Water Tribe once and for all.

His memories were random--he'd be thinking about Azula's multiple lies one second and the next he was remembering riding an ostrich horse with his uncle and the next he could almost hear Mai yelling in his face and then the next he was remembering a strained conversation with his father. Ba Sing Se must just be the drug that turned him into a depressed fool, or else an overly happy fool. He couldn't say he liked it either way.

He was lying on his bed one day when he heard two maids chattering in the hall as they came to bring his lunch.

"So beautiful, shame she's really just a common whore."

The other maid laughed. "Well, look where it's gotten her. World domination and all that. You can't really blame her."

"I guess she's really not common, more like a refined, cruel, ridiculously powerful. . ."

"Whore?"

She laughed. "Yeah."

They pushed open the door to his dark room and light flooded in, their forms shadowed in front of it. Zuko sat up and looked at them. "What were you just talking about?"

Even in the shadows, he could see looks of fear cross their faces. "Well. . ."

Zuko rolled his eyes and waved his hand. "It's fine, just leave the food."

They scurried out and Zuko quickly got dressed and raked his fingers through his shaggy hair. Without touching the food he set out for his sister's chamber, which he knew to be the best in the palace. He wasn't really angry, he just wanted to hear the truth out of his sister's mouth for once.

The door to her chamber slammed open and he had to walk through two sitting areas before he finally found her, seated at a desk and focused on a large scroll. "Azula, we need to talk."

She didn't turn around to look at him. "What is it, Zuzu? I haven't seen you in days. We're having a party, by the way."

He resisted the urge to scream at her. "I want to know what happened between you and Long Feng."

"He was in love with me. Isn't that funny?" She still didn't look up.

The maid's words still rang in his ears. "So that's how you got him to trust you?"

She didn't reply, but picked up a brush and started writing on a blank sheet of paper.

"Azula?"

She sighed, and he could tell she was rolling her eyes. "More or less."

"More or less? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Whatever you want it to mean, Zuko. I'm busy right now, can't this wait?"

"So you slept with him."

She set down her brush and from her tense posture he thought for a moment that she was going to respond, finally, but the next thing he knew she had picked up another scroll and was completely focused on it.

He let out a frustrated groan. "That's beneath you! Azula, you're a princess! We could have just slaughtered them instead of you turning yourself into a _whore_."

She set down the scroll again but still didn't turn around. "Think about it, Dum-dum. We couldn't have done anything without destorying the Dai Li, and without the Dai Li. . . Well, Dad doesn't want that mess on his hands."

"So find another way! I've watched you manipulate people plenty of times--"

"And how is this any different? Lust is blinding."

His voice was lost, so completely was he exasperated with his little sister. She was twirling a strand of hair around her finger. "Don't you have any honor?" he finally managed to say.

She laughed. "Don't lecture me about honor, Zuko. You spent three years running all over the world and you _still_ haven't found yours."

His jaw hung lax as he stared at her in shock, and then he renewed his anger. "Dignity, then!"

Finally she turned to look at him, a cold look in her eyes. "Stop chastising me, Zuko. I regained control, didn't I? I did what had to be done. Besides," she gave him a half smile, "you do realize Uncle never followed his own scruples, right?"

Zuko was astounded. "It wasn't Uncle who taught me about simple morality, Azula, it was _Mom._"

She shrugged and turned back around in her chair, picking up the brush again and dipping it into some ink. "Oh. I guess I never got that lecture. When we talked it was usually about how I should be nicer to you."

Zuko wanted to yell and scream sense into her, but in the end all he did was shoot a blast of fire at the wall behind him and stalk out of the room.

* * *

A few days passed and Azula left the government official she had charged with the duty of arranging their going away party in considerable distress. His complaints about the short deadline, over-the-top budget, and rather threatening invitations had been completely ignored by the Fire Nation princess.

Mai was leaning against a pillar and Ty Lee was attempting to demonstrate the finer points of blocking chi as a stress reliever. Azula walked up to them, her eyes on her nails.

"Tell me again why we're having a party?" Mai asked, sounding anything but overjoyed at the prospect.

"Because they're so fun and we get to wear gorgeous clothes." Ty Lee piped up.

"Well. . . Yes, there's that. . ." Azula gave her a perplexed look and turned back to Mai. "It's the best way to get all the nobles in Ba Sing Se together, announce the new regent and to weed out the last rebels. Anyone who doesn't attend will do so because they're opposing Fire Nation rule. Obviously, they'll be dealt with quickly."

Azula gestured and the three started walking up to her chambers, where supper would be waiting for them. The halls of the palace seemed to her to be overly drafty and she struggled not to shiver in front of her friends.

Ty Lee chattered on about the clothes. "I've had one of the Upper Ring seamstresses design some party clothes for us--in red, of course. You two really need to come with me for a fitting. I _know_ it's ridiculous, Mai, but just this once trust me." Ty Lee gave her a hopeful glance.

"I'll be overjoyed to fit it into my schedule," Mai responded as Azula let them into her chamber.

Azula was still fighting chills as discreetly as she could; thankfully, the other two were engaged in their conversation. This was ridiculous, she'd practiced her drills religiously and had watched her diet carefully. . . In fact, she'd hardly had an appetite. The other two women were lounging on pillows on the floor, both taking their chopsticks to their plates.

"I'm--going--to--change," Azula said, clenching her teeth through the shivering. She nearly ran to the innermost room and dove through her wardrobe, searching for the warmest garment she could find.

"Azula?" Mai's voice sounded from behind her. Azula whipped her head around.

"I said I was just coming to change, why didn't you ju--" she was halted by a hacking cough that seemed to take over all her insides--her energy was flowing out of control, she could _feel_ it painfully coursing her veins--she was so, so cold--

Relief came when Ty Lee placed two gentle, soft hands on certain locations and the chi blocked up. It was uncomfortable, but certainly better than the overwhelming chaos it had been before. Azula fell onto the stone floor and put her head in her hands.

"Azula, what's wrong?" Mai came and knelt beside her, putting her hand on Azula's shoulder the same as Ty Lee was doing.

Tears flooded Azula's eyes. This was so, so ridiculous; she should be able to control this. Frustrated, she started sobbing. "I don't _know_. I don't know what's happening to me."

Ty Lee was rubbing soothing circles on her back. "It's just. . . stress. That's all." She didn't sound very convincing.

"Stress doesn't mess up your firebending," Azula snapped. She sat up straighter and wiped the tears from her eyes. Without her armor, she knew just how thin she looked; the combination of loss of appetite and this strange illness were taking its toll on her body.

"C'mon," Mai stood up, giving Ty Lee a look as she did so, "Let's go eat something and then you can just go to bed."

"Yeah," Ty Lee said slowly, "I'm sure all you need is a little rest."

Azula did as they said and fell asleep after long hours of tossing and turning, going quickly from nausea to chills. Finally, she closed her eyes to a restless slumber. . .

* * *

Having spent the whole day training with the other firebenders, Zuko returned to his room very late that night. Sinking heavily into the bed, he slowly pulled off his boots. His arms ached as he peeled the red shirt from his skin, and he didn't bother to change his pants. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he fell deeply asleep.

Someone was talking to him. "Zuko!" the voice whispered. Zuko turned back over. He felt like he had slept for only ten minutes, but when his eyes opened into slits he saw that the fire had died. He didn't have enough energy to get it going again (though, somewhere in the haze of his tired mind, he knew he should, as the palace of Ba Sing Se was very cold this time of winter) and then he fell back asleep.

"Zuko!" came the voice again, louder. Zuko turned over and rubbed his eyes. To his surprise, the frightened voice came from Azula.

Light from the moon shone through the window onto the princess. Her hair was loose and unkempt, as though she had been tossing and turning. She was sitting on the floor next to his bed, with her knees drawn up to her chest and her arms around them. Her face was flushed.

"Azula?" he asked, unsure that this vulnerable looking girl was really his sister.

She burst into tears, rocking back and forth. "Zuko, I'm on fire--I'm burning, Zuko, I'm burning--Zuko, it hurts, it hurts. . ." she broke off and started crying again.

Utterly confused, Zuko climbed out of bed and found a comfortable tunic, which he tied around him. Brushing his unkempt hair out of his eyes, he knelt down in front of his sister. She looked back up at him with wide golden eyes, devoid of the glare he had grown accustomed to.

"Um. . . Tell me what hurts?" Zuko felt helpless.

She sobbed harder. "_Everything_. I'm on fire. Look--" She held out her arm and the whole thing burst into orange flame.

"Azula, put that out!" Zuko's voice raised. Her fire looked wild, emotional, angry.

"I can't. I can't. I can't. I'm burning!" She was crying in pain again and pulling her flaming arm closer to her. Suddenly afraid her whole body would catch fire, Zuko lunged forward and ran his hands the length of her arm, taking the raging fire into his hands and extinguishing it.

"It hurts so badly, Zuko." She sounded like a child, a child she had never been. "It's so hot."

Abandoning the usual manners that kept him and Azula even more distant than her abrasive personality, Zuko reached forward and fumbled with the clasp on the heavy robe she was wearing, as he could see beads of sweat on her brow. Apparently the fever had overcome the winter chill. The tunic she wore underneath he deemed thin enough to keep her cool, and so he scooped her up and laid her on his bed. In a tender gesture he pushed her damp hair out of her eyes.

The rest of the night left Zuko exhausted. He ran to get her water, and when he finally got her cooled off her temperature would drop dangerously low and she would shake with chills. He would try to bend the fire in her body to bring her temperature up, and it would soar. She caught fire three times, singing the green sheets. Zuko contemplated just letting her burn to death (he had a feeling that's what she would do if roles were reversed) but there was something in her eyes that convinced him, at least for now, to treat her as his little sister.

He finally fell asleep sitting next to the bed as the sun rose.

* * *

"My head. . ." Azula groaned. It was pounding. She squinted in the bright sunlight that streamed from a window, feeling disoriented. To her surprise, Zuko was asleep on the floor. . . Shocked, she looked around and realized she was in his room.

"What's going on?" she asked loudly. "Zuko!"

Zuko sat up, rubbing his head. With his other hand he threw the discarded heavy robes at her. "You had a terrible fever last night. I see you're back to normal." Without another word, he left the room.

Azula leaned back on her elbows, bewildered. She'd been ill the night before, that was certain, but ending up in Zuko's room? If he wasn't such an awful liar she wouldn't have believed him. Azula climbed out of the bed and went through her morning stretches, ignoring the glaring burn marks on her otherwise pale, perfect skin.

* * *

Zuko had discovered a sheltered corner in the palace ballroom. A pillar hid him from view on his left and a large plant on his right, so that he could see out without really having to engage in any conversations. The Fire Nation prince hated parties with a passion, and this one seemed to be the crown jewel of awful parties.

It was by far the strangest party ever thrown. On the one hand, this multitude of Ba Sing Se nobles were here to prove their "undying" loyalty to the Fire Nation. On the other hand, the party was a fantastic success and people were still lined up outside trying to get in. Beyond the very tasty food, Zuko didn't know what the attraction was.

Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee were the perfect hostesses, also strange to Zuko. Mai and the cynics stood in one section discussing how stupid the party was; Ty Lee and the enthusiasts stood in another section discussing how great it was. They were each charming in their own ways, and Zuko couldn't help but observe the effort both had put into their appearances.

Ty Lee had, apparently, decided to forever wear her hair down. It fell around her in brown waves, ribbons braided into different sections. Her dress was a hybrid of Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom styles, which Zuko only knew because she had spent far too much of his time describing it to him. "The elegant stitching" added life to the "patterns and seams like we use back home" and the "silk and chiffon materials" gave an "Earth Kingdom softness and charm" to the otherwise "rigid structure of Fire Nation clothes." What Zuko had concluded was that it was a pretty dress that showed a lot of skin.

Mai hadn't taken time to describe her outfit to him, so all Zuko could come up with was that she looked very elegant like the noblewomen back home. Many of the tall, dark, and handsome type were situated around her and Zuko tried to rouse the pangs of jealousy in him, but it didn't happen.

He turned to look at his sister. A few years ago she had discovered that social skills and manipulating people to her own advantage could really have a lot in common, and so had become the life of the party. Her abundant charisma and beauty drew all sorts of people to her, and even though he couldn't hear her, Zuko had no doubt that she was subtely influencing public opinion with her clever comments. She had dressed to impress, looking like a true princess. It was no wonder that the people were flocking around her.

Once Zuko had alerted her to the rumors circling around the palace about her promiscuity she had stifled them. He hadn't asked her methods, but knew that her reputation remained intact for this crowd. The nobles of Ba Sing Se liked to pretend that they did nothing wrong, hiding every act under layers of elegance and double-talk and order. Even though he had grown up around similar behavior, Zuko was disgusted with them, with the whole depraved crowd of them, and hadn't the heart to even try to socialize. He'd never been good at it, anyway--

"Hi!"

Zuko looked up to see a pretty girl a few years younger than him. "Uh. . . Hi." He tried not to make eye contact. Maybe she'd get discouraged and go away.

"My name is Star. I saw you sitting all alone and I thought you could use some company."

He was about to say no when she squeezed herself into a seat on his secret bench. "I know who you are."

"That's great." Really, really wonderful.

"You're Prince Zuko."

"I know."

"And that's your sister?" She pointed to where Azula was charming an elderly, obviously wealthy man.

"Yes."

"Do you think you could introduce us?" Star said hopefully, giving Zuko a shy glance. He rubbed his forehead.

"Look, Star, it's not worth it. I can see right through you--You're this shallow rich girl who's never gotten anything but your own way. For one, Azula wouldn't like you. For another, climbing this social ladder isn't worth it. Can you just. . . Go away?"

Her pretty face suddenly became very ugly, distorted with anger. "Fine. You know what? Your scar is hideous. It's no wonder you're sitting here alone. Who would want to talk to a scarred freak like you?" She was staring pointedly at his scarred eye throughout the whole little speech and then got up and stalked away, ending up on the edges of the group around Azula.

Zuko's fire sprung to his fingers in anger, ready to explode--then, as quickly as it had come, he settled back down again. It wasn't worth it. He wasn't going to let a silly high-society girl get to him.

Azula was standing on a platform at one end of the ballroom, and Zuko looked up as a servant rang a small gong. Her head moved to look over the whole room as the crowd silenced and turned to face her. Zuko rested his head against the pillar.

"Nobles of Ba Sing Se." Her voice rang out, pure and refined, over the ballroom. "I am so pleased that you have all decided to join me here tonight."

Zuko wondered if he was the only one who recognized the insincerity in her words. He lifted his head from the smooth stone of the pillar to look around at all the people. Nearly everyone was attentively watching Azula, save that old man snoring in the back.

"The Fire Nation's reign has only proven to benefit you, and it is a great relief to me that we are able to join each other for simple events such as this party. I would also like to announce your new regent in my abscence." She gestured and General Chaika stepped onto the platform next to her.

Zuko sat up. That choice was unexpected. Azula usually chose people that she could easily control, not someone who could actually. . . Be a leader. It was a smart decision, and he knew why she had made it--General Chaika would effectively control Ba Sing Se with benevolence as well as Fire Nation force, leaving the city firmly under the Fire Nation's hand.

General Chaika thanked her and both stepped down from the platform. The traditional Fire Nation music resumed.

Zuko rubbed his temples. The Sungi hornist was_ terrible._ He had a half a mind to go over there, kick the man out, and play it himself, but that would mean leaving his secluded bench and getting mobbed. Blasted scar made him recognizable no matter how crowded or dark it was. Zuko leaned back on the bench and started sulking.

Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee had all moved together now and were bewitching the entire ballroom. A wink from Ty Lee, a touch on the arm from Mai, a small smile from Azula, and the people were won over. These women could do anything they wanted and still be considered the most fascinating, alluring women in the world. Among the three of them they had all the qualities that defined the Fire Nation: charm, charisma, wealth, beauty, power, lack of empathy, ego, cruelty, versatility, precision. And heartlessness.

After a moment of shock, Zuko had the sudden feeling that these three, his constant companions for years, were people that he really didn't like. Mai had changed, Ty Lee grated on his nerves, and he'd never liked Azula.

Nauseous, Zuko got up and left the party through a door that led to an open-air passageway. Snow was falling lightly.

* * *

Azula gave the nobleman a furtive look and a smirk. His name escaped her at the moment, but he was obviously rich and certainly handsome. She only hoped that he was as influential as she had guessed he was, or else this whole conversation was a waste of her time.

"You know, Princess," he said as the two of them walked away from where she had been standing with Mai and Ty Lee, "None of us have ever actually _seen_ Fire Lord Ozai. As far as we're concerned, you're the true Fire Lord."

Azula smiled. "Really now?"

"Really." He lifted his glass to her and took a sip.

Azula placed a hand on her hip, feeling the embroidery of the silk. The dress had been carefully designed to add shape to her thin frame, draping fabric across her hips and adding layers across her bust, along with wide sleeves, while highlighting her narrow waist with a red belt. Her hair was wound into ornate knots on her head, making her the picture of elegance.

She opened her mouth to further flirt with the man, and see what else he could tell her about her influence in Ba Sing Se, when out of the corner of her eye she saw her brother pushing aside the heavy curtains that hung in the huge archways around the ballroom. "Excuse me for a moment." She gave the nobleman a winning smile, handed him her glass, and followed her brother.

Past the heavy curtains was a balcony, slowly being covered in snow. A couple was talking on one side of it, but it was otherwise empty. Connected to the balcony was a covered bridge that led to other balconies around the palace. Zuko was halfway down it already.

"Zuko!" she called, picking up her pace. He slowed, turned, and scowled at her.

"What do you want?"

Soon she'd caught up with him. "Why are you leaving?"

"I don't like parties."

"Well I know _that_, Dum-dum." She rolled her eyes. "That's not a very good excuse."

He turned his face to look over the sides of the walkway. Beyond the lanterns lighting where they stood, it was near darkness. "I didn't like the company."

Azula heaved a sigh. "You could play the Sungi horn, whoever's doing it is terrible." She looked at her nails, which had been painted blood red for the occasion.

He gave her a perplexed glance. "I didn't know you knew I played."

"Don't be ridiculous, I remember when you started playing. You and cousin Lu-Ten, the two man band. I was what, five? I still hear those awful, screeching noises in my nightmares."

Zuko didn't crack a smile, not that she expected him to. "I've gotten better."

"Yes, I'm sure you have. Look, that's not the point. You're the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation, heir to the throne, conqueror of the Northern Water Tribe, and so on. If you're not in there, then it reflects badly on me."

"It's not like I was talking to anyone."

She rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest. "Yes, but they were talking about you. Women find you attractive, Zuko. . . Though I can't fathom. . ." She trailed off, eyes resting on the rippled scar marring the left side of his face.

"I want to go to sleep!" he snarled, folding his own arms defiantly across his chest. They stood there glaring at each other.

"_Fine,_ Zuko. I don't see why you always have to be so selfish."

"_Me?_" He gaped at her. She smiled, folded her hands into her sleeves, and started walking away. Snow was soaking through her thin slippers. Zuko was still trying to squeak out something behind her.

He pushed past her. "Show you how selfish I am," he muttered as he passed her to go back to the party.

Azula couldn't help but love doing things like that to Zuko. He just left himself wide open.

She looked up at the sky--it was already somewhere in the very early hours of the morning, and they were beginning the journey home tomorrow. She yawned, composed herself, and returned to the party.


End file.
